Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Leasehold

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of to Question 184606 on Leasehold, whether that legislation will apply retrospectively.

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 19 May 2023 to Question 184606 on Leasehold, what data his Department holds on the number of people who are not protected due to an extension or variation of a lease since 14 February 2022.

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 19 May 2023 to Question 184606 on Leasehold, what estimate his Department has made of the potential additional legal and valuation costs to leaseholders who are currently in the process of extending or varying a lease.

Lee Rowley: As I outlined in response to my Hon. Friend, in Question 184606, we are looking to legislate to resolve this issue as soon as parliamentary time allows.We do not hold data on the number of people who are not protected due to an extension or variation of a lease since 14 February 2022, however, we believe the number to be relatively small.We have not made an assessment as to the estimate of the potential legal and valuation costs for leaseholders who are in the process of extending or varying a lease. However, it should be noted that, in the normal course of events, all leaseholders typically require legal support in the course of seeking a lease extension or variation, so we do not anticipate that there will be significant 'additional' costs to those which they ordinarily would have incurred.

Housing: Overcrowding

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of discounting children under the age of 1 when calculating overcrowding under the Housing Act 1985 on children's health.

Rachel Maclean: The 2004 Housing Act places a duty on local authorities to take enforcement action if they identify an 'crowding and space' hazard at the most dangerous 'category 1' level, as assessed by the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS). The HHSRS operates by evaluating the potential risk of harm to any actual or potential occupier from their living environment. For crowding and space hazards, this includes children under the age of one.

Temporary Accommodation: Standards

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps he is taking to improve standards on the (a) safety and (b) quality of temporary accommodation.

Rebecca Long Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential correlation between temporary housing and low child mortality rates.

Felicity Buchan: We are aware of National Child Mortality Database research on housing conditions, poverty and potential correlations with Sudden and Unexpected Deaths of Infants. We cannot emphasise enough that every family and child should live in suitable, safe housing.   Local authorities must ensure temporary accommodation is suitable in relation to all members of a household.We are pursuing a number of housing reforms which will increase quality and regulation across all housing stock, including temporary accommodation. This includes reviewing the Decent Homes Standard, The Social Housing Regulation Bill and Renters reform.

Home Office

Asylum: Development Aid

Mr Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what percentage of the Overseas Development Assistance budget was spent on accommodating asylum seekers in the UK in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Robert Jenrick: The latest data available was published on GOV.UK on 5 April 2023 as part of the provisional Statistics for International Development (SID). In this publication, Home Office In-donor costs for 2022 were £2,382m and total HMG ODA was £12,774m, in line with international spending rules. Here is a link to published statistics The Statistics on International Development: Provisional UK Aid Spent 2022 – GOV.UKThat is why we are shifting to cheaper and basic accommodation and delivering on out plan to stop the boats – which is the enduring way to alleviate unfair pressure on communities and the British taxpayer.

Large Goods Vehicle Drivers: Visas

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she has made a recent assessment of the potential merits of increasing the number of visas available for (a) HGV and (b) public service vehicle drivers.

Robert Jenrick: The Government has no plans to increase the number of visas available for (a) HGV and (b) public service vehicle drivers, as these occupations are not eligible under the Points Based System. The Government’s position is that employers should invest in recruitment from the resident workforce, which includes UK workers and migrants with general work rights, for jobs with relatively short training requirements.The independent Migratory Advisory Committee (MAC) is currently reviewing the Shortage Occupation List (SOL), which involves extensive consultation with industry. The MAC will report its recommendations in the Autumn, after which the Government will consider its position. As per the Government’s commissioning letter to the MAC last year, inclusion on the SOL for jobs which do not meet the skills threshold should only be considered in exceptional circumstances, such as when we added care workers last year.

Visas: Families

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Family Reunion visa applications from 2022 are outstanding.

Robert Jenrick: The number of outstanding applications are published in quarterly transparency data. The most recent data can be found at Asylum and resettlement datasets - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). The next data is due to be published in or around September 2023.We prioritise all applications where the application has been made by an unaccompanied child under the age of 18. We will also prioritise applications where there is an evidenced urgent or compelling reason.

Police: Leicester

Claudia Webbe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many police officers were employed in Leicester (a) as of 1 July 2023 and (b) in 2010.

Chris Philp: The Home Office collects and published data on the size of the police workforce in England and Wales, broken down by Police Force Area (PFA), on a bi-annual basis in the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin which can be accessed here: Police workforce England and Wales statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).These data are collected by PFA only, and lower levels of geography, such as towns or boroughs are not collected. The Home Office does not hold data on the number of police officers working in Leicester.Data is collected as a snapshot as at 31 March and 30 September each year. The Home Office does not hold data on the number of police officers as at 1 July 2023.Information on the number of police officers in Leicestershire as at 31 March each year, from 2007 to 2022, on a full-time equivalent (FTE) and headcount basis, can be found in the ‘Workforce Open Data Table’ here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1093587/open-data-table-police-workforce-270722.ods.The latest figures, as at 30 September 2022, are available in the data tables accompanying the latest ‘Police Workforce’ bulletin which can be accessed here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1130953/police-workforce-sep22-tables-300922.ods.The next release of ‘Police workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin, which will cover the situation as at 31 March 2023, is scheduled for release on Wednesday 26th July.While the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin remains the key measure of the size of the police workforce, as part of the Police Officer Uplift Programme, the Home Office also publishes a quarterly update on the number of officers (headcount terms only) in England and Wales, also broken down by PFA. Data as at 31 March 2023 are available here: Police Officer uplift statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)The latest provisional data from the ‘Police Officer Uplift’ statistics shows, as at 31 March 2023, across England and Wales, there are over 149,500 police officers, the highest number of police officers on record, surpassing the previous peak of 146,030 in March 2010.The deployment of officers is an operational matter for local Chief Constables.

Theft: Criminal Investigation

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of theft investigations were closed due to the victim did not support police action in each year since 2010.

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what proportion of fraud investigations were closed due to the victim not supporting police actions in each year since 2010.

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what percentage of robbery investigations were closed before coming to court because the victim did not support police action in each year since 2010.

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data her Department holds on the percentage of possession of weapon investigations which were closed once a charge had been made due to the victim not supporting police actions in each year since 2010.

Chris Philp: Protecting victims and improving their experience and the support they receive is a key priority for the Government.The public rightly expect the police to protect them and ensure those that break the law face justice, and we expect crimes reported to the police to be investigated appropriately.According to the Crime Survey for England and Wales, the most reliable estimate of crime trends in the UK, since 2010:Theft offences is down 47%.Robbery is down 70%.Theft from a person is down 60%.The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of police recorded offences, and their investigative outcomes (including charges and other outcomes). The next publication is due on Thursday 20th July 2023.Information on the proportion of crimes closed with different outcomes are broken down by offence group are published as part of the ‘Crime outcomes in England and Wales’:https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/crime-outcomes-in-england-and-wales-statisticsA new outcomes framework was developed in 2014 and data prior to this is not comparable.

Asylum: Temporary Accommodation

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Statement made by the Minister for Immigration on 29 March 2023, Official Report, column 1017, what recent progress her Department has made on establishing sites at which asylum seekers will be accommodated; and what recent estimate she has made of the cost to the public purse of each of these sites.

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she will be able to provide details of the (a) capital costs and (b) ongoing annual revenue costs of each of the asylum accommodation centres announced on 29 March 2023.

Robert Jenrick: There is an urgent need to reduce reliance on hotels to accommodate asylum seekers, to reduce cost to taxpayer and to better manage community impacts.As per standard practice, audited costs for large accommodation sites will be published through the Home Office annual report and accounts.

Asylum: Accommodation Centres

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will place in the Library the dispersal plans for each of the asylum accommodation centres announced on 29 March 2023; and if she will provide details on which local authorities asylum seekers at those sites will be dispersed to.

Robert Jenrick: For each of the sites announced on 29 March 2023, the Home Office will deploy the established dispersal processes for moving service users out of the site, based on need and the current operational capacity across the accommodation estate.

Asylum: Hotels

Preet Kaur Gill: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will review her Department’s use of hotel accommodation to help improve the suitability of accommodation offered to asylum seekers.

Robert Jenrick: The United Kingdom has a statutory obligation to provide destitute asylum seekers with accommodation and other support whilst their application for asylum is being considered as set out in the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.

Chevening Scholarships Programme: Sudan

Vicky Ford: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether Sudanese applicants who were notified that they had been selected for Chevening scholarships will be granted visas to the UK.

Robert Jenrick: Student visa applications for Chevening scholars will be considered on their individual merits and in line with immigration rules.The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office have confirmed that Sudanese nationals who have been offered a Chevening award for the 2023-24 academic year and are unable to take up the scholarship due to the conflict and travel restrictions are able to defer their award to the 2024-25 academic year.

Afghanistan: Refugees

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of applications under the Afghan Citizens’ Resettlement Scheme have been successful.

Robert Jenrick: The latest Immigration system statistics, year ending March 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) (published on 25 May 2023), show that since their first arrivals in 2021, the Afghan schemes – the ACRS and the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) - have resettled a total of 21,004 people. The UK has made one of the largest commitments of any country to support those impacted by events in Afghanistan. The Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme will see up to 20,000 eligible individuals from Afghanistan and the region resettled to the UK over the coming years.There is no application process for the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS). Instead, those who are eligible will be prioritised and referred for resettlement to the UK through one of the scheme’s three referral pathways. Further information on the ACRS can be found on the gov.uk website at:Afghan citizens resettlement scheme - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Home Office: Dahua Technology and Hikvision

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether their Department has purchased products manufactured by (a) Hikvision and (b) Dahua in the last three years.

Tom Tugendhat: As has been the case under successive administrations, it is not government policy to comment on the government’s security arrangements. This includes any specific details regarding the make and model of security systems, which are withheld on national security grounds.Each Department is responsible for their own procurement decisions.However, I would refer the Hon. member to the Written Ministerial Statement made by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on 24 November 2022, which set out that Departments had been instructed to disconnect surveillance equipment from core departmental networks where it is subject to the National Intelligence Law of China.

Police: Food Banks and Poverty

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 10 July 2023 to Question 191943, whether she has plans to hold discussions with chief constables on police officers (a) facing in-work poverty and (b) using food banks.

Chris Philp: Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners, like all employers, have a duty to manage and support their officers. It is therefore the responsibility of individual forces to provide financial wellbeing services where they consider it is appropriate to do so.On 13 July 2023, the Government announced that it had accepted the recommendations of the Police Remuneration Review Body to award a consolidated increase of 7% to all ranks up to and including assistant chief constable and commander with effect from 1 September 2023. The Government also awarded the same increase to chief constables, deputy chief constables and ranks above commander in the Metropolitan Police Service and City of London Police. The Government also accepted the PRRB’s recommendation to remove the lowest pay point for constables, bringing starting salaries up to £28,551. The Government has been clear in its commitment to support the wellbeing of our police, through continuing to fund the National Police Wellbeing Service and introducing a Police Covenant. We will continue to work closely with policing partners and help Chief Constables in their duty to support their workforce effectively.

Electronic Cigarettes: Imports

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help stop the illicit import of vapes.

Chris Philp: Border Force resource is deployed not just to carry out essential checks at the border but also to detect harmful goods and safeguard vulnerable and exploited individuals. There is not a specific number of mandated checks for Border Force officers to conduct every day. Most checks will be conducted according to risk levels or intelligence.

Home Office: Vivastreet

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 1 November 2022 to Question 72950 on Home Office: Vivastreet and the Answer of 18 November 2022 to Question 87795 on Home Office: Vivastreet, whether (a) Ministers or (b) officials from her Department have held discussions with Adult Services Websites on ending the practices of (i) allocating account managers to high-spending customers, (ii) allowing the same phone number to be used in multiple concurrent adverts and (iii) allowing single individuals to post multiple concurrent adverts on behalf of others.

Miss Sarah Dines: Pursuant to answers 72950 and 87795, Ministers have not held discussions with adult services websites. The purpose of Home Office officials and law enforcement meetings with adult services websites is to raise awareness of the risks of online sexual exploitation and the steps companies can take to minimise criminality on their platforms.

Department for Education

Personal, Social, Health and Economic Education: Public Consultation

Sir Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans her Department has to engage with parents in its relationships, sex and health education public consultation review; and if she will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: The first phase of the review of the RSHE statutory guidance started in March 2023. All parents will have an opportunity to present their views as part of the public consultation on revised guidance due to be launched in autumn 2023.In developing revised guidance for consultation, the Department have asked a range of stakeholders including a number of groups representing parents, to share evidence about areas of the guidance they would like to see strengthened.Parents have also been invited to contribute their views directly in roundtables with ministers focusing on key topics such as suicide prevention and RSHE teaching materials.

Queen's University Belfast: Industrial Relations

Stephen Farry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the suspension of Queen's University Belfast from the Universities and Colleges Employers Association.

Stephen Farry: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has held recent discussions with the Universities and Colleges Employers Association on the membership status of Queen's University Belfast.

Robert Halfon: Education is a devolved matter. The Northern Ireland Executive is responsible for higher education policy in Northern Ireland.The department is aware that the marking and assessment boycott is affecting students across all four nations of the UK.Unlike some other education sectors, where the UK government has taken part in negotiations with trade unions in England, universities are autonomous. They are, therefore, responsible for the pay and pension provision of their staff.While the government plays no formal role in such disputes, we are deeply concerned about the potential impact of the marking and assessment boycott on students, particularly those who are coming up to graduation and looking to enter the jobs market or progress to further study.It is hugely disappointing that students, many of whom have already faced significant disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic and strike action, are now facing further uncertainty. It is imperative that higher education institutions continue to do everything within their powers to protect the interests of their students.On 6 July 2023, I spoke with the Vice-Chancellor of Queen’s University Belfast and the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to discuss how the University agreed a pay settlement with its staff.I have also met with the Universities and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA), Universities UK and the Russell Group to better understand the impact that this boycott will have on students and the mitigating actions their members are taking to protect students’ interests.On 14 July 2023, the UCEA and the University and College Union held talks about resuming negotiations which would bring an end to the boycott. I was pleased to hear that these initial discussions were positive. We hope all parties can reach an agreement that delivers good value for students, staff and universities, so further industrial action can be avoided.

National Tutoring Programme: Finance

Munira Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much and what proportion of the budget for the National Tutoring Programme was not spent in each year of the programme's operation.

Nick Gibb: The National Tutoring Programme (NTP) makes available subsidised tutoring to boost progress and support for those pupils most in need to catch up on education lost because of COVID-19 pandemic.There is extensive evidence that tutoring is one of the most effective ways to accelerate academic progress. This is why the Department is providing more than £1 billion to support tutoring over four academic years, from 2020/21 to 2023/24.In the 2020/21 academic year the budget for the NTP was £109 million, of which £41 million was unspent.In the 2021/22 academic year the budget for the NTP was £485 million, with estimates that £206 million of this funding was unspent.The final position for the 2021/22 academic year will be set out in the Department’s annual accounts, which will be published later this year. Figures for the 2022/23 and 2023/24 academic years are not yet available.

Department for Education: Dahua Technology and Hikvision

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether their Department has purchased products manufactured by (a) Hikvision and (b) Dahua in the last three years.

Nick Gibb: As has been the case under successive administrations, it is not Government policy to comment on the Government’s security arrangements. This includes any specific details regarding the make and model of security systems, which are withheld on national security grounds.Each Department is responsible for their own procurement decisions. However, I would refer the Hon. member to the Written Ministerial Statement made by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on 24 November 2022, which set out that Departments had been instructed to disconnect surveillance equipment from core departmental networks where it is subject to the National Intelligence Law of China.

Schools: Flexible Working

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she is taking steps to provide guidance to schools on implementing flexible working whilst maintaining education quality and the attractiveness of the teaching profession.

Nick Gibb: Ensuring teaching is an attractive profession in which teachers are supported to succeed is a key priority for the Department.Flexible working is increasingly a normal expectation of employees, and teaching is no different. The opportunity to work flexibly can help to recruit and retain talented teachers, enabling the high quality teaching needed to support pupil outcomes.The Department is taking action to expand and promote opportunities for flexible working, whilst maintaining the quality of education. This includes promoting formal flexible working arrangements, such as part time working and encouraging informal flexibility, such as agreed ad hoc days off for personal or family days. It also includes opportunity to spend planning, preparation and assessment time working remotely, away from the school building.To promote flexible working practices, the Department has published supportive resources on GOV.UK, including non-statutory guidance and case studies. The Department is continuing to build on this collection.The Department is also funding support. In February 2023, a culture change programme was launched, focused on embedding flexible working in schools and multi academy trusts. This programme includes the delivery of supportive webinars. As part of this package of support, the Department is funding flexible working ambassador schools and multi academy trusts to provide bespoke peer support to leaders in education. In June 2023, the Department appointed seven new ambassadors and is currently in the process of recruiting more, building on the work of a previous cohort of ambassador schools.

Children: Coronavirus

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to support children's (a) mental health and (b) academic attainment following the covid-19 pandemic.

Nick Gibb: Helping pupils recover from the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic is one of the Department’s main priorities.The Department is committed to ensuring all schools are calm, safe and supportive learning environments that promote and support mental health and wellbeing. The Department is offering schools and colleges funding to train a senior mental health lead who can put in place an effective whole school or college approach to mental health and wellbeing. Over 13,800 schools and colleges have now received a training grant, including more than 7 in 10 state funded secondary schools.As of September 2020, the health education curriculum has a strong focus on mental wellbeing. Pupils are taught the links between physical and mental health, how to recognise and talk openly regarding their emotions, and how and where to seek support if they are concerned for their own or someone else’s mental wellbeing.When a pupil is struggling with their mental health, it is vital to intervene early. That is why the Department is working with the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England to continue the rollout of Mental Health Support Teams across schools and colleges. These teams currently cover 35% of pupils in schools and further education and will increase to an estimated 44% of pupils by April 2024.Raising attainment for all pupils is at the heart of this Government’s agenda. The Department is committed to helping every pupil to fulfil their potential by ensuring they receive the right support, in the right place, at the right time.The Government is committed to providing a world class education system for all children and has invested significantly in education to achieve that. Overall, the core schools budget is rising by over £3.9 billion this year alone, compared to the 2022/23 financial year. This is on top of a £4 billion cash increase last year, a 16% increase in just two years. School funding in 2024/25 will be more than £59.6 billion, the highest ever level in real terms per pupil.This funding will enable headteachers to continue to spend in the areas that we know positively affect educational attainment, including high quality teaching and targeted support to the pupils who need it most.Also, the Department’s multi year recovery funding which made available almost £5 billion continues to be delivered, and much of the extra recovery funding the Department has made available, for instance in staff development, will have benefits for years to come.The Department is continuing to deliver the proposals set out in the Schools White Paper, which aim to improve outcomes for all pupils, with specific focus on raising attainment for disadvantaged pupils.Schools continue to receive the Pupil Premium to enable them to provide extra support and so improve disadvantaged pupils’ academic and personal achievements. Pupil Premium rates will increase by 5% for 2023/24, taking total Pupil Premium funding to £2.9 billion.The Department is funding 55 Education Investment Areas (EIA), of which 24 are Priority Education Investment Areas (PEIA). In each of the 24 PEIAs, the Department will also make more intensive investment on top of the significant support available in EIAs, including a share of up to £42 million through the Local Needs Fund to address specific local barriers through bespoke interventions to improve attainment at Key Stages 2 and 4. PEIAs are also benefiting from having enhanced or priority access to a number of other programmes offered by the Department, including Maths Hubs and Connect the Classroom.

Multi-academy Trusts: Regulation

Chris Loder: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to strengthen the regulatory framework for multi-academy trusts.

Nick Gibb: The Department provides multi-academy trusts with a high level of autonomy to drive improvement in the school sector. This approach ensures trust leaders are accountable to their trustees.Inspection of individual schools and financial oversight from the Education and Skills Funding Agency are the two primary levers in the Department’s regulation of trusts. We publish performance information on multi-academy trusts and have powers to intervene in the event of failures of governance.In March, the Department published the Academies Regulatory and Commissioning Review. This sets out how we will revise and consolidate our regulatory approach, so it is more proportionate, effective and risk-based, delivering regulatory oversight in a more strategic manner. It also details how the Department will support the continued transition to a self-improving system by sharing best practice and supporting trust improvement.Finally, the Review sets out how we will reform our approach to commissioning multi-academy trusts to grow. It was followed in July by the publication of the ‘Commissioning high-quality trusts’ guidance. Together, these documents set out new, high expectations on trusts that want to grow which we will apply consistently and transparently. The result will be that standards in the trust sector will continue to rise.Multi-academy trusts continue to improve standards in schools with poor Ofsted ratings, with 88% of schools now rated good or outstanding compared to 68% in 2010. This reflects the ability of high quality trusts to introduce effective approaches to raising standards, and to deploy the capacity and capability of the trust to target underperformance.

Universities: Industrial Disputes

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department has issued guidance to universities on pay deductions during marking boycotts.

Robert Halfon: Unlike some education sectors where the government has taken part in negotiations with trade unions, universities are autonomous. They are therefore responsible for the pay and pension provision of their staff. While government plays no formal role in such disputes, there is concern about the potential impact of the marking and assessment boycott. The government hopes all parties can reach an agreement that delivers good value for students, staff and universities, so further industrial action can be avoided.On 22 June 2023, I met with Universities UK (UUK), the Russell Group and UCEA to better understand the impact of this boycott. I have also written to the Russell Group and UUK, encouraging them to continue to do everything within their powers to protect the interests of students during this phase of industrial action.On 27 June 2023, I met with a number of higher education (HE) representative groups to discuss the marking and assessment boycott, including the mitigating actions HE institutions are taking.On 12 June 2023, the Office for Students (OfS) wrote to institutions affected by the boycott to reiterate its expectations in relation to its conditions of registration. The OfS will continue to monitor this ongoing situation through their normal regulatory mechanisms.My officials and I will continue to engage with the HE sector over the coming weeks to help better understand the boycott’s impact and the mitigating actions HE institutions are taking.

Sign Language: Children

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of deaf children were enrolled on a British Sign Language course in the latest period for which data is available.

Claire Coutinho: British Sign Language (BSL) is an important language for communication for many deaf people and people with hearing impairments. Schools are free to offer sign language programmes to meet the needs of their pupils if they wish. The department does not hold data on the proportion of deaf children enrolled on BSL courses. New subject content for a BSL GCSE has been developed by the department, together with Ofqual and subject experts. The department launched a 12 week public consultation on the draft subject content on 15 June 2023. Details of the public consultation can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/gcse-british-sign-language-bsl-proposed-subject-content. The aim is for the GCSE to be first taught from September 2025.

Languages: Hearing Impairment

Sir John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much funding her Department provided for language courses for deaf children in each region in the latest period for which data is available.

Claire Coutinho: The Government does not collect local authority level data on specialist education services for children with sensory impairments. The Children and Families Act 2014 requires all local authorities to publish a local offer of services for children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) in their area. This is to ensure that families are aware of services that are available in their area and can contribute to shaping the services to meet local needs. Information about the support available for children with sensory impairment should be included within the local offer.The department provides funding to support local authorities in delivering SEND provision and high needs funding for children and young people with complex needs. This financial year, over £10 billion of funding has been provided.

Department of Health and Social Care

Hospices: Children and Young People

Helen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to publish the application process for the Children and Young People hospice grant for 2024-25.

Helen Whately: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Hospitals: Construction

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish a list of (a) successful and (b) unsuccessful bids for the New Hospitals Programme.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department of Health and Social Care: Contracts

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many contracts worth more than £1 million his Department has entered into where the (a) goods and (b) services contracted for have not been received and are no longer expected to be received in the last five years.

Will Quince: The information is not available in the format requested and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Cancer: Waiting Lists

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people have waited for more than 62 days for an urgent referral for cancer to be diagnosed or ruled out in the last year.

Will Quince: The following table shows, as of 18 July 2023, the total number of people who received a diagnosis of confirmed cancer or cancer definitively excluded, and of these how many were given the outcome after 62 days.DateReceived diagnosis after day 62Total receiving diagnosisJun 202217,296229,494Jul 202217,351233,522Aug 202218,464250,561Sep 202221,566245,351Oct 202222,538247,248Nov 202222,535269,256Dec 202216,794219,492Jan 202323,117239,458Feb 202318,407232,393Mar 202314,885262,950Apr 202313,571215,274May 202317,552246,948Total224,0762,891,947

Mental Health Services: Children and Young People

Dr Rosena Allin-Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of (a) children and (b) young adults placed on adult psychiatric wards.

Maria Caulfield: We recognise that for some young people, admission to hospital will not be the most appropriate way to meet their needs. The overall strategy is therefore to reduce reliance on inpatient mental health beds for children and young people with a severe mental illness. The model of provision of National Health Service-funded inpatient treatment for children and young people is being reviewed and re-designed to support the move to a community-based provision, where children and young people are able to access appropriate support in a timely, effective and patient-centred way, close to home and in the least restrictive environment. This transition is being supported by the introduction of provider collaboratives to support place-based commissioning and to develop local services that meet the needs of their communities. Options may include increased day provision and the new model will see a change to how inpatient environments are best utilised.

Doctors: Recruitment

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to provide office space to enable the recruitment of additional trainee doctors.

Will Quince: The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, published in June 2023, includes an aim to double the number of medical school places in England to 15,000 places a year by 2031/32, and to work towards this expansion by increasing places by a third, to 10,000 a year, by 2028/29.The Government has no immediate plans to provide additional office space and will work with the sector to ensure the efficient use of current capacity across the National Health Service and universities.

General Practitioners:  Telephone Systems

Karin Smyth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Delivery plan for recovering access to primary care, published on 9 May 2023, how many and what proportion of GP Practices have requested Government support to move to digital telephony since the publication of that plan.

Neil O'Brien: Since the publication of the recovery plan, 1,050 (16%) general practitioner practices which equates to 100% of practices currently on analogue telephony solutions have requested support to transition to digital telephony.

Electronic Cigarettes: Young People

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he is monitoring the number of hospital admissions of young people related to vaping.

Neil O'Brien: The number of hospital admissions in England for the past three years can be viewed through recently reported National Health Service data, which is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/supplementary-information/2023/hospital-admissions-for-vaping-related-disordersBetween 2022 and 2023, there were 40 instances of primary or secondary diagnoses for children from 0-19 years, up from 37 between 2021 and 2022.Please note that admissions do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the period, and figures from 2022 to 2023 are provisional.Additionally, the ICD-10 code for a vaping related disorder can also be used in combination with other codes to indicate the type of condition being treated at the time.We will continue to monitor this and other adverse drug reactions reports, including through the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency Yellow Card reporting system.

NHS: Waiting Lists

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish any data his Department holds on the impact of industrial action in the NHS on waiting lists.

Dr Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of industrial action on patient waiting lists.

Will Quince: Following any period of strike action, NHS England publish data on their website on the impact of industrial action. This sets out the number of staff absent as a result of industrial action, and the number of procedures and appointments rescheduled. The data do not include the impact on waiting lists. The data is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/preparedness-for-potential-industrial-action-in-the-nhs/

Arthritis: Mental Health

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of waiting times for elective care on the mental health of people with arthritis.

Will Quince: The Department has not made any assessment of this potential impact. However, cutting waiting lists is one of the Government’s top priorities. We are making good progress on tackling the longest waits, to ensure patients get the care they need when they need it.To support elective recovery, the Government plans to spend more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25, in addition to the £2 billion Elective Recovery Fund, to help drive up and protect elective activity. As part of the Autumn Statement 2022, the Government announced an additional £3.3 billion for 2023/24 and 2024/25 to support the National Health Service in England, enabling rapid action to improve emergency, elective and primary care performance towards pre-pandemic levels. Taken together, this funding could deliver the equivalent of around nine million more checks and procedures and will mean that the NHS in England can aim to deliver around 30% more elective activity by 2024/25 than before the pandemic.We met our target to virtually eliminate long waits of two years or more for elective procedures in July 2022, and significantly reduced the number of patients waiting 18 months or more by April 2023 by over 91% from its peak in September 2021.Our next ambition is to eliminate waits of 65 and 52 weeks. Steps being taken include increasing capacity, seeking alternate capacity in other trusts or the independent sector, and engaging with patients to understand their choices.

Food: Production

Ed Davey: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many (a) cautions, (b) prosecutions and (c) other legal actions the Food Standards Agency took against food producers in each of the last five years.

Neil O'Brien: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) did not issue any cautions in any of the last five years.The number of FSA prosecutions against food producers is shown in the following table:YearNumber of prosecutions2018/1992019/20102020/2122021/2272022/232 Figures for other legal actions taken by the FSA against food producers are shown in the following tables.The number of executed warrants, confiscation orders and prohibition orders per financial year is shown in the below table:Financial yearExecuted warrants, confiscation orders and prohibition orders2018/1922019/2012020/2122021/2252022/239 The number of approval reviews, Certificates of Competence (CoC) suspensions and revocations by calendar year is shown in the below table:Calendar yearApproval reviews, CoC suspensions and revocations201831201986202044202173202247 The number of animal welfare, remedial action and hygiene improvement notices between 2018 and 2022 is shown in the below table:Legal action takenNumber of legal actions takenAnimal Welfare Notices 2018-22236Remedial Action Notices 2018-22602Hygiene Improvement Notices 2018-22435Note: These figures are not available on a year-by-year basis.When it comes to keeping food safe, prosecutions represent the last line of defence. As the national regulator for food, the FSA plays a key role in the prevention of food safety breaches and food crime.

Electronic Cigarettes

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of how many (a) non-smokers and (b) ex-smokers have taken up vaping in the last year.

Neil O'Brien: Using the latest Office for National Statistics data from the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey, the Department estimates that in England in 2021 there were around 1.6 million ex-smokers that currently vaped, an increase from around 1.4 million in 2020.There were around 495,000 non-smokers that currently vaped in England in 2021, an increase from around 375,000 in 2020.The full data set is available at the following link:https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/drugusealcoholandsmoking/datasets/ecigaretteuseingreatbritain

Pharmacy: Closures

Elliot Colburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has has made an assessment with Cabinet colleagues of the potential impact on public health of changes in the levels of closures of pharmacies between 2015 and 2023.

Neil O'Brien: No assessment has been made of the impact on public health of pharmacy closures.The Department closely monitors the market to ensure that people in England have good access to National Health Service pharmaceutical services, including services focused on health promotion and prevention of ill-health. Despite the increase in pharmacy closures seen in recent years, there is a similar number of pharmacies to ten years ago, and about 80% of the population live within 20 minutes’ walking distance of a pharmacy. Every three years, local authorities’ Health and Wellbeing Boards in England undertake pharmaceutical needs assessments for their areas to ensure that provision continues to meet their populations’ needs.

Pharmacy: Finance

Elliot Colburn: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on funding for pharmacies.

Neil O'Brien: No recent discussions have been held. However, in May, as part of the Delivery plan for recovering access to primary care, we announced a further investment of up to £645 million over two years to expand the services offered by community pharmacies.The Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework 2019-24 five-year deal commits £2.592 billion each year to the sector. Previously, in September 2022, we announced an additional one-off £100 million investment across this and last financial year to support the expansion of services delivered by community pharmacies.

Primary Health Care: Finance

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what new capital funding was made available to primary care estates in the financial year 2022-23 in (a) Feltham and Heston constituency and (b) London.

Will Quince: The Government is providing record levels of capital to the National Health Service, with over £24 billion allocated between 2022/23 and 2024/25.Over £12 billion of this is allocated to integrated care boards (ICBs) to invest themselves based on local priorities (including primary care facilities). The table below sets out the operational capital allocation for London ICBs, including South West London Health & Care Partnership, the relevant ICB for Feltham & Heston.Integrated Care BoardOperational Capital Allocation (2022/23 to 2024/25)South West London Health & Care Partnership ICB£374 millionNorth West London Health & Care Partnership ICB£650 millionOur Healthier South East London ICB£681 millionNorth London Partners in Health & Care ICB£590 millionEast London Health & Care Partnership ICB£256 millionTotal£2,551 million

NHS: Databases

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to encourage patient participation in the NHS federated data platform.

Will Quince: The Federated Data Platform (FDP) refers to software which will enable National Health Service organisations to bring together operational data, currently stored in separate systems, to support staff to access the information they need in one safe and secure environment. The FDP will allow staff to plan theatre time to maximise use, drawing together information on clinical need, waiting times, staff rotas, and other operational data.The NHS will ensure public engagement is focused on how data will be used within the FDP. To do this, the FDP programme is actively engaging and involving patients and the public in decisions about how data will be used with the platform, and about how to best to meet the duty of transparency and open communication. It has published clear and accessible information, and will continue to do so, including details about who will access data and for what purpose. Where possible, public information will be co-created with public/patient groups and representatives.The FDP programme will: be clear about people’s rights and choice to opt out (where applicable); has undertaken a series of public deliberation events and national research to understand the views of the public in relation to how their data is used, and to understand their expectations regarding how they are informed about its use; will engage with the public for the life of the programme, ensuring alignment to other data programmes, the development of a national data pact and engagement related to Data Saves Lives, the national data strategy; will engage the public, in a range of ways, to understand their views regarding patient data, including monitoring monthly through a public survey; and will continue to work closely with stakeholder groups who represent and champion the voice of the public and patients.

Hospital Beds: Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust and Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust

Helen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many beds there were at (a) Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust and (b) Shropshire Community Health Trust in each year between 2015 and 2023; and what targets there is for the number of beds at each trust in winter 2023-24.

Will Quince: The average number of beds at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust (SaTH) in 2015 to -2023 is shown in the table below.Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital TrustYearTotal average General & Acute Beds per year2015/167152016/177292017/186502018/196652019/207062020/216912021/227252022/237592023/24 YTD773Source: NHS EnglandThe NHS Shropshire Telford and Wrekin Integrated Care Board is planning to create an additional 52 sub-acute beds on the SaTH footprint by this winter. That will enable the trust to increase patient flow through its General and Acute bed base.The information is not available in the format requested for Shropshire Community Health Trust (SCHT). SCHT is not planning any change to its bed base in 2023/24.

Musculoskeletal Disorders: Health Services

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to help support people living with a musculoskeletal condition.

Will Quince: NHS England’s Getting it Right First Time programme has a specific workstream on musculoskeletal health. It is designed to improve the treatment and care of patients with musculoskeletal conditions through in-depth review of services, benchmarking, and presenting a data-driven evidence base to support change.The primary care delivery plan is supporting people to self-refer for selected community musculoskeletal services, and we estimate that up to 50% more patients could be self-referring by March 2024, which will reduce waiting times for patients with arthritis.The Government also plans to spend more than £8 billion from 2022/23 to 2024/25 to step up elective activity and transform elective services. This funding could deliver the equivalent of around nine million more checks, scans and procedures, and will mean the National Health Service in England can aim to deliver around 30% more elective activity by 2024/25 than it did before the pandemic. The Major Conditions Strategy is an opportunity to tackle musculoskeletal conditions to improve outcomes for patients. The strategy will set out a clear vision for musculoskeletal conditions, covering treatment and prevention.

Health Professions: Cancer

Helen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate his Department has made of the number of (a) NHS oncologists who are (i) employed and (ii) unemployed and (b) vacancies for that role in (A) Shropshire and (B) England as of 17 July 2023.

Will Quince: There are 17 full-time equivalent doctors working in the oncology specialisms at hospital trusts and core organisations in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Integrated Care Board as of March 2023, which is the latest available data.Information on unemployed oncologists and vacancies is not held centrally by the Department.

Bupropion

Richard Thomson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 22 February 2023 to Question 147126 on Bupropion, whether he has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of the availability of bupropion; if he will publish guidance for people using bupropion for ADHD or depression; and if he will take steps to ensure that there is a continued supply.

Will Quince: The Department is aware of a shortage with Bupropion.We issued comprehensive management guidance to healthcare professionals on this shortage in December 2022. The guidance advises on the management of patients who require this medication for both licensed and off-label indications. Clinicians can advise patients on suitable alternative products, and other management options that can be considered. This includes unlicensed Bupropion 150 milligram modified release tablets which have been sourced.

WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

Ben Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions his Department had with interested parties at the WHO FCTC 2030 tobacco control and taxation workshop in Panama on 26-27 January 2023.

Ben Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, which officials were present at the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control 2030 tobacco control and taxation workshop in Panama on 26-27 January 2023.

Neil O'Brien: Officials did not attend the tobacco control and taxation workshop in Panama in January 2023.

Musculoskeletal Disorders: General Practitioners

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what funding his Department is providing to support the roll-out of musculoskeletal first contact practitioners in general practice.

Neil O'Brien: We remain committed to growing and diversifying the general practice workforce, through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS). Primary care networks (PCNs) and practices have recruited over 29,000 additional staff, including nursing associates, pharmacists, physiotherapists and social prescribing link workers, hitting the Government's target to recruit 26,000 a year ahead of the March 2024 target.NHS England have committed to supporting all of the roles recruited through the scheme into the future, and PCNs can be confident that there will be funding for any ARRS role recruited before March 2024.

Pharmacy: Wakefield

Simon Lightwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an estimate of the number of pharmacies in Wakefield (a) constituency and (b) district.

Simon Lightwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support community pharmacies in Wakefield.

Neil O'Brien: The consolidated National Health Service pharmaceutical list is published once a quarter and can be accessed via the NHS Business Services Authority Open Data portal, which is available at the following link:https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/consolidated-pharmaceutical-listThis shows that as of March 2023 there were 22 pharmacies in Wakefield constituency and 74 in Wakefield district.The Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework 2019-24 five-year deal commits £2.592 billion each year to the sector. In September 2022, we announced an additional one-off £100 million investment across this and last financial year. In May, as part of the Delivery plan for recovering access to primary care, we announced a further investment of up to £645 million over two years to expand the services offered by community pharmacies.

General Practitioners: Employment

Dr Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many full-time equivalent GPs were active in (a) 2020, (b) 2015, (c) 2005, (d) 2000 and (e) 1995.

Neil O'Brien: The table below shows the number full-time equivalent GPs were active in 2020, 2015, 2005, 2000 and 1995.YearAll GPs (full time equivalent)September 199529,248September 200026,114September 200531,901September 201534,392September 202035,393Source: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/general-and-personal-medical-servicesNotesFull-Time Equivalent (FTE) refers to the proportion of full-time contracted hours that the post holder is contracted to work. 1 would indicate they work a full set of hours (37.5), 0.5 that they worked half time. For GPs in Training Grades’ contracts 1 FTE = 40 hours and in this table these FTEs have been converted to the standard wMDS measure of 1 FTE = 37.5 hours for consistency.Figures shown do not include staff working in prisons, army bases, educational establishments, specialist care centres including drug rehabilitation centres, walk-in centres, and other alternative settings outside of traditional general practice such as urgent treatment centres and minor injury units.Data from September 2015 onwards was collected using a new methodology and should therefore not be directly compared with data from before September 2015. Figures from September 2015 should be treated with caution as the data submission rates under the new methodology from practices were appreciably lower than for subsequent reporting periods. This means that the reported figures for the early years of the collection may be lower than the true picture. In September 2015, which was the first extract from the new Workforce Minimum Data Set, only three of four Health Education England regions submitted data.It is not recommended that comparisons be made between quarterly or monthly figures (e.g. Mar 16 to Sept 16) due to the unknown effect of seasonality on workforce numbers. Any such comparisons should therefore be treated with extreme caution.Figures from earlier collections (September 2005 to September 2015) should be treated with caution as the data submission rates from practices were appreciably lower than for subsequent reporting periods. This means that the reported figures for the early years of the collection may be lower than the true picture.

Pharmacy: Staff

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the community pharmacy workforce to meet the needs of local pharmacies.

Neil O'Brien: The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, backed by over £2.4 billion to fund additional education and training places over the next five years, sets out the steps the National Health Service and education providers need to take to deliver an NHS workforce that meets the changing needs of the population over the next 15 years. The ambition is to increase training places for pharmacists by nearly 50% to around 5,000 by 2031/32, and to grow the number of pharmacy technicians.Community pharmacy contractors are also now mandated to complete the Community Pharmacy Workforce Survey annually. This will provide more robust data to inform future workforce, service planning and investment decisions. NHS England are currently analysing data gathered from the 2022 survey and the results will be published shortly.

Electronic Cigarettes: Packaging

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of plain packaging on levels of consumption of e-cigarettes.

Neil O'Brien: No formal assessment has been made.

General Practitioners: Staff

Dr Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many full-time general practice staff were (a) male and (b) female in (i) 2020, (ii) 2015, (iii) 2010, (iv) 2005, (v) 2000 and (vi) 1995.

Neil O'Brien: The table below shows the number of full-time general practice staff who were male and female in September 2005, 2010, 2015 and 2020. Data is not broken down by gender for all practice staff for 2000 and 1995.YearFemale (all practice staff)Male (all practice staff)September 200512,19219,710September 201015,36119,881September 201591,90220,414September 2020108,68223,081Source: https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/general-and-personal-medical-servicesNotesFull-Time Equivalent (FTE) refers to the proportion of full-time contracted hours that the post holder is contracted to work. 1 would indicate they work a full set of hours (37.5), 0.5 that they worked half time. For GPs in Training Grades’ contracts 1 FTE = 40 hours and in this table these FTEs have been converted to the standard wMDS measure of 1 FTE = 37.5 hours for consistency.Figures shown do not include staff working in prisons, army bases, educational establishments, specialist care centres including drug rehabilitation centres, walk-in centres and other alternative settings outside of traditional general practice such as urgent treatment centres and minor injury units.Data from September 2015 onwards was collected using a new methodology and should therefore not be directly compared with data from before September 2015. Figures from September 2015 should be treated with caution as the data submission rates under the new methodology from practices were appreciably lower than for subsequent reporting periods. This means that the reported figures for the early years of the collection may be lower than the true picture. In September 2015, which was the first extract from the new Workforce Minimum Data Set, only three of four Health Education England regions submitted data.It is not recommended that comparisons be made between quarterly or monthly figures (e.g. Mar 16 to Sept 16) due to the unknown effect of seasonality on workforce numbers. Any such comparisons should therefore be treated with extreme caution.Figures from earlier collections (September 2005 to September 2015) should be treated with caution as the data submission rates from practices were appreciably lower than for subsequent reporting periods. This means that the reported figures for the early years of the collection may be lower than the true picture.

Primary Health Care: Staff

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase the retention of (a) GPs and (b) other primary healthcare staff.

Neil O'Brien: We are working with NHS England to increase the general practice workforce in England. This includes measures to boost recruitment, address the reasons why doctors leave the profession, and encourage them to return to practice. NHS England has made available a number of recruitment and retention schemes to boost the general practice workforce. This includes the GP Retention Scheme, the GP Retention Fund, the National GP Induction and Refresher, the Locum Support Scheme, and the Supporting Mentors Scheme.Through the Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme, primary care networks and practices have recruited over 29,000 additional staff, including nursing associates, pharmacists, physiotherapists and social prescribing link workers, hitting the Government's target to recruit 26,000 a year ahead of the March 2024 target.NHS England recently published the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan. This sets out the steps the National Health Service and its partners need to take to deliver an NHS workforce, including general practitioners and other primary healthcare staff, that meets the changing needs of the population over the next 15 years. It will put the workforce on a sustainable footing for the long term.

WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

Ben Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with which countries officials in his Department have been liaising in preparation for the Tenth Conference of the Parties of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

Neil O'Brien: Officials from the Department meet with officials from other countries on a wide range of tobacco control issues, including those related to the Tenth Conference of the Parties of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in November. For example, most recently, Departmental officials have met with counterparts from Australia and Canada.

Pharmacy: Closures

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of trends in the number of pharmacy closures since 1 January 2023.

Neil O'Brien: Pharmacy openings and closures in England are published by NHS Business Services Authority. Between 31 December 2022 and 30 June 2023, the number of pharmacies reduced by 222. This reduction was mainly driven by the large multiples reducing their portfolios. To address the disproportionately high rate of closures of 100-hour pharmacies, legislation was amended in April to allow those pharmacies to reduce their hours to a minimum of 72. The Department is monitoring the market and access to pharmaceutical services remains good, with 80% of people in England living within 20 minutes walking distance of a community pharmacy and twice as many pharmacies in the more deprived areas.

Drugs: Manufacturing Industries

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many prosecutions of pharmaceutical companies withholding information from the Medicines &amp; Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency have occurred in the last twenty years.

Will Quince: While the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s (MHRA) records dating back to 2003 are incomplete, it is unable to identify any prosecutions that have occurred as a result of a pharmaceutical company withholding information.

NHS: Pay

Matt Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans to take steps to extend NHS non-consolidated payments to NHS staff bank members.

Will Quince: Many National Health Service bank staff who are directly employed on the Agenda for Change contract, for example, on permanent or fixed-term contracts, and who undertake additional shifts through an NHS bank, will already be eligible for the non-consolidated payments agreed with the NHS Staff Council. Some will be employed exclusively on locally managed contracts, for example Bank contracts, and thus it will be for individual employers to determine the pay and conditions for those members of staff.

Radiology: Consultants

Helen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of consultant radiographers employed by the NHS in (a) the Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Integrated Care System and (b) England as of 17 July 2023.

Will Quince: The table below shows the number of full-time equivalent consultant radiographers in hospital trusts with Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin Integrated Care Board (ICB) and in England as of March 2023, which is the latest period for which data is available.Care SettingShropshire, Telford and Wrekin ICBEnglandDiagnostic Radiography2140Therapeutic Radiography-54

Drugs: Shortages

Mike Amesbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to resolve medicine shortages affecting pharmacies.

Will Quince: Medicine shortages are an ongoing issue that the Department has been managing for many years. The production of medicines is complex and highly regulated, and materials and processes must meet rigorous safety and quality standards. Supply problems can arise for various reasons such as manufacturing issues, problems with raw ingredients and batch failures. The Department has well-established processes to manage and mitigate the small number of supply problems that may arise at any one time due to manufacturing or distribution issues.There is a team within the Department which deals specifically with medicine supply issues arising both in the community and hospitals across the United Kingdom.  It works closely with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the pharmaceutical industry, NHS England and others operating in the supply chain, including suppliers and wholesalers, to help prevent shortages and expedite resupply where possible to ensure that the risks to patients are minimised when they do arise. The team develop guidance which is shared with the National Health Service, including community pharmacies, advising on how to manage supply issues.

Doctors: Radiology

Helen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of (a) doctors specialising in clinical radiology and (b) diagnostic and therapeutic radiographers at Shropshire, Telford, and Wrekin integrated care board.

Will Quince: As of March 2023, there were 5,350 full-time equivalent (FTE) doctors working in clinical radiology in National Health Service trusts in England, 269 more than a year ago, representing a 5.3% increase.As of March 2023, there were 17,006 FTE diagnostic radiographers and 3,024 FTE therapeutic radiographers working in NHS trusts and integrated care boards in England. Compared to March 2022, that is an increase of 882 in diagnostic radiographers, a 5.5% increase, and an increase of 67 in therapeutic radiographers, a 2.3% increase.In January 2023, Health Education England announced that nearly 900 additional medical specialty training posts have been created for this year, including more than 500 in the key areas of mental health and cancer treatment.The NHS Long Term Workforce Plan (LTWP), published in June 2023, includes an aim to double the number of medical school places in England to 15,000 places a year by 2031/32, and to work towards this expansion by increasing places by a third, to 10,000 a year, by 2028/29. This will increase the potential pipeline for clinical radiologists. The LTWP also sets out planned increases in the training intake for diagnostic and therapeutic radiographers to 2,300 and 475 respectively per year by 2031.These steps will benefit every integrated care board area, including Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin.

NHS: Waiting Lists

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many patients were waiting over 18 months for NHS treatment in England as of 12 July 2023.

Will Quince: Thanks to the work of National Health Service staff, we have now virtually eliminated waits of over 18 months, in line with the targets set out in the elective recovery plan.Most recent published NHS England management information showed that on 2 July there were 7,363 patients waiting over 18 months, a reduction of over 94% from the peak of 125,000 in September 2021. As with the two-year target successfully met in July 2022, we have always been clear that there will be valid reasons why a small number of patients may need to wait more than 18 months, including personal choice and the complexity of the treatment required. For patients that are still waiting, local NHS services are working hard to schedule their appointments in line with clinical advice as a priority.

Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency: Standards

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the adequacy of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency on the adequacy of response times to requests for further information on clinical trials.

Will Quince: Before December 2021, applicants were required to respond to all requests from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency for further information (also known as ‘grounds for non-acceptance’) within 14 days. However, since December 2021, applicants have had the flexibility to request additional time to respond to requests for further information, as required, by contacting the Clinical Trials Helpline.Furthermore, as stated in the Government response to the Consultation on legislative proposals for clinical trials (published 21 March 2023), we will introduce a 60-day timeframe (with flexible extension) to respond to any requests for further information. This flexibility will enable sponsors to prepare robust responses and interact with assessors to satisfy the regulators and avoid application rejections. It is important to note that the 60-day proposal is a maximum timeframe, so the sponsor could respond as quickly as they would like up to this limit.

Hospitals: Correspondence

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to stop hospitals sending results letters with advertisements for private healthcare included.

Will Quince: The Department has issued guidance to National Health Service trusts on the promotion of private healthcare to NHS patients, including sending results letters with advertisements for private healthcare included. NHS Identity guidance states that “when NHS Trusts offer private healthcare services, they should market and promote their private healthcare services completely separately. They should not market or promote these services within their NHS communications to patients and the public.”

Medical Equipment: Technology

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that medical technologies procured by the NHS help (a) enable the delivery of the Life Sciences Vision and (b) provide positive patient outcomes.

Will Quince: The recently announced £650 million life sciences package will support the delivery of plans for accelerating the development, adoption and spread of innovation to bring new products to patients faster, in line with the Life Sciences Vision (LSV). Through the LSV, we are also advancing plans for a new regulatory pathway, which will facilitate the development and uptake of beneficial innovative technologies, and are progressing work to improve the capability to generate Real World Evidence, which will support the National Health Service in selecting products that provide positive patient outcomes.The Government's new Medical Technology Strategy, published in February 2023, builds on the LSV to set out how the health and social care system can reliably access safe, effective and innovative medical technologies that support the continued delivery of high-quality care, outstanding patient safety and excellent patient outcomes in a way that makes the best use of taxpayer money. Through the Medical Technology Strategy, we are working closely with NHS Supply Chain and NHS England to implement a consistent methodology for value-based procurement to be adopted at a national and local level and ultimately to provide positive patient outcomes.

Health Insurance: Applications

Stephen Farry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average processing time is for a UK (a) European and (b) Global Health Insurance Card; and what steps he is taking to warn applicants of possible delays.

Will Quince: The mean processing time for Global Health Insurance Cards over the last six months was 2.2 days and the median was zero days. The mean processing time for new United Kingdom-issued European Health Insurance Cards over the last six months was 18.9 days and the median was one day. Both of these times are measured from the point at which the application was submitted until the card was issued. Where applicants are asked to provide evidence to support their applications, the response time following provision of those documents is currently three working days. The service is currently meeting these key performance indicators and there are no delays with card production or mailing. Consequently, applicants are not being informed that there are delays.

Surgery: Waiting Lists

Sir George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many surgery cancellations there have been by speciality in the last 12 months.

Will Quince: The information is not available in the format requested. However, we continue to work to minimise cancellations and reschedule activity as soon as possible across all specialities.For example, from April 2023, providers are being asked to establish Perioperative Care Co-ordination teams. These are multidisciplinary teams that will assess health needs to proactively inform pre- and post-operative care and identify surgical risk factors, in order to reduce the chance of cancellations and to improve patient outcomes.

Medical Equipment: Technology

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to develop value-based procurement for medical technologies within the NHS.

Will Quince: The Government's new Medical Technology Strategy, published in February 2023, commits to ensuring the right medtech products are available at the right price and in the right place. To ensure the best value for public money, the strategy recognises that the value of medtech products should not be considered in isolation, but across the whole patient pathway, and that the lowest price does not always mean the best value. The Department’s Medtech Directorate is working closely with NHS Supply Chain and NHS England to build on the work already undertaken on the application and adoption of Value Based Procurement (VBP) to develop a consistent methodology to be adopted at both a national and local level.

Arthritis: Surgical Hubs

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department is taking steps to collect feedback from people with arthritis who use surgical hubs.

Will Quince: The Department values the importance of patient feedback on all National Health Service services, including from patients with arthritis who use NHS surgical hubs. It is up to individual integrated care systems and NHS trusts to decide how they collect patient feedback.The NHS Friends and Family Test was created to help service providers and commissioners understand whether patients are happy with the service provided, or where improvements are needed. It is a quick and anonymous way for patients to give their views after receiving NHS care or treatment. Patients are also encouraged to give feedback by speaking to a member of staff or by leaving a review on the relevant services on nhs.uk.

Musculoskeletal Disorders: Research

Dame Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether funding by his Department on research into musculoskeletal conditions are being (a) maintained or (b) increased in real terms; and if he will make a statement.

Will Quince: The Department commissions research through the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR). In 2022/23 the NIHR spent approximately £15.4 million on musculoskeletal conditions research, which represents a £1.1 million increase since 2021/22, and a £4.6 million increase since 2020/21.More broadly, the NIHR has awarded over £100 million in combined research funding and infrastructure support for musculoskeletal conditions research over the last five years. However, it is not usual practice for the NIHR to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions, as such future spend on musculoskeletal research is not yet determined.NIHR research applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality. The NIHR welcomes funding applications for research into any aspect of human health, including musculoskeletal conditions.

WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 5 July 2023 to Question 191860 on WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, who will lead the UK delegation; what instructions his officials will be given on the authorisation of measures that will involve a cost to the public purse; and if he will make a statement to the House on (a) his Department's approach before and (b) the outcomes of the convention after November 2023.

Neil O'Brien: The United Kingdom delegation will consist of officials from the Department of Health and Social Care, as is usual practice for this Conference of the Parties. A decision on who will attend is yet to be made.The delegation will not agree to any decisions which would impact on our ability to deliver our bold ambition to be Smokefree by 2030. Any measures involving a cost to the public purse will follow the normal Departmental approval processes.Following the conference, decisions will be published on the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control website. There are no plans for a statement on the conference to be made to the House.

Dentistry: Training

Helen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of dentistry schools in rural areas.

Neil O'Brien: We acknowledge that there are areas of the country that are experiencing recruitment and retention issues and we are taking steps to address the workforce challenges across the country, including in rural areas.We are currently working with partners to assess the capacity within existing dental schools to accommodate the proposed expansion in training places set out in the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan. Work is also underway through the establishment of Centres for Dental Development to bring together dental education and training with service delivery models, particularly in areas where there is a shortage of workforce relative to population need.

Community Health Services: Children

Claudia Webbe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase the availability of community child health services in Leicester East constituency.

Helen Whately: The Department is committed to reducing community health care waiting lists for children and young people. That is why the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan sets commitments to expand the community workforce, with increases in training places for district nurses and allied health professionals, as well as a renewed focus on retaining our existing staff.NHS England has asked systems to develop and agree plans to reduce waiting lists for community health services, including considering transforming service pathways and improving effectiveness and productivity. Commissioning community services is the responsibility of local integrated care systems.

General Practitioners: Recruitment

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent estimate he has made of the number of additional GPs that will be recruited by 2023.

Neil O'Brien: The Government remains committed to growing the general practitioner (GP) workforce and the number of doctors in general practice, and is determined to deliver this as soon as possible. There were nearly 2,000 more full-time equivalent doctors working in general practice in March 2023 compared to March 2019.We are working with NHS England to increase the GP workforce in England. This includes measures to boost recruitment, address the reasons why doctors leave the profession and encourage them to return to practice.NHS England recently published the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan, which sets out the steps the National Health Service and its partners need to take to deliver an NHS workforce, including GPs, that meets the changing needs of the population over the next 15 years. It will put the workforce on a sustainable footing for the long term.

Dental Services: Nurses

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of standardising (a) salaries and (b) access to NHS pensions for dental nurses employed by private dentists and those dentists with an NHS contract in line with those dental nurses employed directly by the NHS.

Neil O'Brien: The National Health Service contracts with independent dental providers to deliver NHS dental treatment in primary care settings. As a result, pay and conditions are agreed between staff and the practice holding an NHS contract. This provides practices with the flexibility to recruit to meet local needs. The NHS Pension Scheme is an occupational pension scheme which can be accessed by staff engaged primarily in the delivery of NHS services.

Ministry of Defence

Ministry of Defence: Dahua Technology and Hikvision

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether their Department has purchased products manufactured by (a) Hikvision and (b) Dahua in the last three years.

James Cartlidge: We take the security of our personnel, systems and establishments very seriously and have a range of measures in place to ensure the integrity of our arrangements. These measures are kept under constant review and adjusted according to the threat. It is, however, long standing policy that we do not comment on the detail of those arrangements.

Ministry of Defence: Northern Ireland

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what (a) property and (b) other locations his Department (i) owns and (ii) operates in Northern Ireland.

James Cartlidge: The following table provides a list of properties and other locations that the Ministry of Defence (i) owns and (ii) operates in Northern Ireland. There are a small number of locations that are not included for security reasons. In addition, there are a total of 901 Service Family Accommodation in Northern Ireland ARMY RESERVE CENTRE, BANGORROYAL AIR FORCE AIR CADETS, JOINT CADET CENTRE, BALLYNAHINCHARMY RESERVE CENTRE, COLERAINESOVEREIGNS HOUSEARMY RESERVE CENTRE, LONDONDERRYARMY RESERVE CENTRE, ENNISKILLENARMY RESERVE CENTRE, CLONAVER PARK, BELFASTARMY RESERVE CENTRE, BELFASTARMY RESERVE CENTRE, NEWTONARDSARMY RESERVE CENTRE, PORTADOWNARMY RESERVE CENTRE, NEWTOWNABBEYARMY CADET FORCE, CADET HUT, LURGANARMY RESERVE CENTRE, DUNMORE PARK, BELFASTKINNEGAR LOGISTIC BASEDIVIS KPPALACE BARRACKSARMY RESERVE CENTRE, LIMAVADYROYAL AIR FORCE AIR CADETS, ANTRIMARMY RESERVE CENTRE, HYDEBANK, BELFASTALDERGROVE BARRACKSARMY RESERVE CENTRE, BALLYMENAALEXANDER BARRACKSMAGILLIGAN TRAINING CENTREROYAL AIR FORCE AIR CADETS, PORTADOWNROYAL AIR FORCE AIR CADETS, LARNEROYAL AIR FORCE AIR CADETS, NEWTONARDSROYAL AIR FORCE AIR CADETS, LISBURNROYAL AIR FORCE AIR CADETS, BELFAST ROYAL ACADEMYDUNGANNON ETBCASTOR BAY MET SITEENNISKILLEN MUSEUMST LUCIA BARRACKSROYAL AIR FORCE AIR CADETS, CARRICKFERGUSROYAL AIR FORCE AIR CADETS, BELFASTARMAGH MUSEUMBALYKINLER TRAINING ESTATEROYAL AIR FORCE AIR CADETS, OMAGHMAYDOWN POLICE STATIONTHIEPVAL BARRACKSCHICHESTER STREET DBS VETERANS AGENCY BELFASTSLIEVE GALLION COMMS SITESLIEVE CROOB COMMS SITEARMY CADET FORCE, CADET HUT, KILLYLEAGHARMY CADET FORCE, CADET HUT, NEWTOWNARDSARMY CADET FORCE, CADET HUT, CARRYDUFFARMY CADET FORCE, CADET HUT, BANBRIDGEARMY CADET FORCE, CADET HUT, BANGORARMY CADET FORCE, CADET HUT, BALLYCLAREARMY CADET FORCE, ARMY CADET FORCE HUTARMY CADET FORCE, CADET HUT, LARNEARMY CADET FORCE, CADET CENTRE, BALLYMONEYARMY CADET FORCE, CADET HUT, CARRICKFERGUSARMY CADET FORCE, CADET HUT, ANTRIMARMY CADET FORCE, CADET CENTRE, COMBERARMY CADET FORCE, CADET HUT, KILLYLEAGH

Armed Forces: Mascots

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish a list of Regimental mascots.

James Cartlidge: List of British Army Regimental mascots as of July 2023: Corporal Cruachan IV (with companion Nightcap) - Shetland pony mascot of The Royal Regiment of ScotlandTurlough Mor (aka Seamus) - Irish Wolfhound mascot of the Irish GuardsLance Corporal Emrys Forlan-Jones - Welsh mountain pony mascot of 1st The Queen’s Dragoon GuardsLance Corporal Derby XXXII (with companion Notts) - Regimental ram of The Mercian RegimentLance Corporal Shenkin IV (with companion Llewellyn) - Regimental goat of the 3rd Battalion The Royal WelshBrian Boru X - Irish Wolfhound mascot of the Royal Irish RegimentLance Corporal Pegasus V (with companion Bruneval) - Shetland pony mascot of the Parachute Regiment

Armed Forces: Discharges

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what assessment he has made of the consistency between policies relating to final year of service medical discharges in the (a)  Army, (b) Royal Navy and (c) Royal Air Force.

Dr Andrew Murrison: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given by the right hon. Member for Plymouth Moor View to Question 166548 on 16 March 2021 to the hon. Member for Plymouth Sutton and Devonport (Mr Pollard).Armed Forces: Discharges (docx, 22.6KB)

Ministry of Defence: Disclosure of Information

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether he is taking steps to ensure that staff in his Department who are under investigation for alleged misconduct are not named before those allegations are proven.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The Ministry of Defence's (MOD) policies for MOD Civil Servants follow the Civil Service's wider discipline policy. This makes clear that disciplinary matters are strictly confidential. This also sits alongside a separate Whistleblowing/Raising a Concern policy, in line with the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998.

Portsmouth Dockyard

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will make an assessment of the impact of surface fleet maintenance support contracts tendered under the Naval Support Integrated Global Network on employees of His Majesty's Naval Base, Portsmouth.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to help support His Majesty's Naval Base, Portsmouth, in transitioning from the Future Maritime Support Programme to the Naval Support Integrated Global Network surface fleet maintenance support.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to help (a) increase employment and (b) protect jobs in surface fleet maintenance support at His Majesty's Naval Base, Portsmouth.

James Cartlidge: The Naval Support Integrated Global Network (NSIGN) programme is in its pre-concept stage with plans yet to be matured. No contracts have been tendered or awarded.NSIGN will be fundamental to safeguarding the future of His Majesty's Naval Base Portsmouth and those at Clyde and Devonport. Maintaining our duty to protect Royal Navy operations and ensuring defence is delivered as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible.A key requirement for the NSIGN programme will be workforce capability and capacity. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) will seek to ensure there is scope to provide improved opportunities for integration, training and conditions across the entire maritime enterprise including the military, civil service and industrial workforce. Service providers under NSIGN will require personnel with similar skills and experience to those currently employed. The MOD will protect the existing workforce by requiring service providers to meet their legal obligations under the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (TUPE) Regulations and by ensuring an orderly transition from the present Future Maritime Support Programme.

Type 31 Frigates

Mr Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether legal proceedings have commenced between Babcock and Defence Equipment and Support on the Type 31 frigate programme.

James Cartlidge: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave on 2 May 2023 to Question 182501 to the right hon. Member for North Durham (Mr Jones).Type 31 Frigates (docx, 18.0KB)

Afghanistan: Refugees

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many and what proportion of applications under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy were approved up to 30 June 2023.

James Heappey: As of 30 June 2023, we have received over 141,000 applications since the launch of the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) scheme on 1 April 2021. Of these applications, 3,527 have been granted ARAP eligibility.

Ministry of Defence: Northern Ireland

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) officials of his Department and (b) members of the Armed Forces from which units are deployed (i) permanently or (ii) temporarily in what locations in Northern Ireland.

James Heappey: The number of Ministry of Defence (MOD) Civilians and Armed Forces Service personnel stationed in each Local Authority in Northern Ireland as of 1 April 2023 is given below:  Military PersonnelMOD CiviliansNorthern Ireland 1,580880Local AuthorityAntrim and Newtownabbey410140Ards and North Down290150Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon~10Belfast20100Causeway Coast and Glens~60Derry City and Strabane~-Fermanagh and Omagh~20Lisburn and Castlereagh850300Mid and East Antrim--Newry, Mourne and Down~70Unallocated-20NotesSymbols– Zero~ 5 or fewerMilitary Personnel are UK Regulars. UK Regulars comprise full time service personnel, including Nursing Services, but excluding Full Time Reserve Service (FTRS) personnel, Gurkhas, Mobilised Reservists, Military Provost Guard Service (MPGS), Locally Engaged Personnel (LEP), Non-Regular Permanent Staff (NRPS), High Readiness Reserve (HRR) and Expeditionary Forces Institute (EFI) personnel. Includes both trained and untrained personnel.Civilian figures are reported as Full Time Equivalent (FTE).The figures are based on Service personnel's stationed location.Country as recorded in Joint Personnel Administration (JPA).Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10 to prevent inadvertent disclosure. However, numbers ending in "5" have been rounded to the nearest 20 to prevent systematic bias. Figures between 1 and 5 inclusive are represented by '~' to prevent possible disclosure, and zero represented by "-".Totals have been rounded separately, and so Totals may not equal the sums of their rounded parts (see totals for MOD Civilians).

Sahel: Security

Ms Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 13 April 2023 to Question HL6976 on Sahel: Security, whether his Department has provided (a) technical support and (b) training to the Directorate General of External Research in Cameroon.

James Heappey: The UK is committed to working with regional allies in West Africa to tackle violent extremism in the Lake Chad Basin. Cameroon is an important partner in this effort. We provide training to the Directorate General of External Research operating in the Far North of Cameroon in order to strengthen their capacity to counter the terrorist threat posed by Boko Haram and Islamic State West Africa.

Ministry of Defence: P&amp;O Ferries

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 10 July 2023 to Question 192709 on 10 July 2023, what was the cost to the public purse of payments made to P&amp;O Ferries for (a) support of operational movement services and (b) business travel between 17 March 2022 and 1 July 2023.

James Cartlidge: Between 17 March 2022 and 1 July 2023, the Ministry of Defence (MOD) made payments of £425,166 directly with P&O using ePC cards primarily for freight movements (this includes operational and freight movements by the National Movement Coordination Centre (Army)), and a further £164,000 was spent through GBT, the MOD’s contracted travel management company, primarily for business travel.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Technology

Caroline Ansell: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to support innovation and growth in the technology sector.

Paul Scully: This Government has a mission to make the UK the most innovative economy in the world and the growth of our tech industry is one of the engines to achieve this. We’ve invested in the sector through the Science and Technology Framework, backed by over £370m in our five priority technologies. We are also prioritising digital skills training and are supporting over 22,000 tech businesses to grow via the Digital Growth Grant.

Broadband: Prices

Dame Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether she is taking steps to support families with increases in the cost of broadband.

Sir John Whittingdale: We recognise this is a challenging time for households. The Department for Science, Innovation and Technology continues to work with Ofcom and providers to ensure provision of social tariffs for those on low incomes. Social tariffs are available in 99% of the UK, from 23 providers starting from £10 per month. We are also engaging with industry to ensure they keep to their commitments to support customers struggling with bills, with payment plans, or penalty-free switching to cheaper tariffs.

Question

David Duguid: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what steps her Department is taking to improve rural connectivity.

Sir John Whittingdale: We have already announced twelve Project Gigabit contracts, to extend gigabit-capable networks in rural and hard-to-reach areas of the UK. More contracts are set to be awarded in the coming months. Support is also available through the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme, which provides a subsidy of up to £4,500 for residents and businesses towards the cost of installing gigabit-capable broadband through local community broadband projects. Through the Shared Rural Network, we are also jointly investing over £1 billion to increase 4G mobile coverage throughout the UK.

Broadband: Rural Areas

Liz Twist: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the speed of the roll-out of Project Gigabit.

Sir John Whittingdale: Over 76% of UK premises can access gigabit-capable broadband. We are on track to meet our target of 85% coverage across the UK by 2025 and more than 99% by 2030. I am proud to see the progress we have made on Project Gigabit, with twelve contracts awarded so far to suppliers to extend gigabit-capable coverage in hard-to-reach areas. On top of this, over 117,000 vouchers have been issued so far under the Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme and its previous iterations. 89,000 of these have been used to provide a gigabit-capable connection.

Cybersecurity: Education

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many and what proportion of applications for the Upskill in Cyber programme in 2023 were from people from ethnic minority backgrounds.

Paul Scully: The Department launched the Upskill in Cyber Programme in May 2023. As of 23 June, three days before closing to new applicants, the programme had received 3750 applications, compared to the previous year's total of 1,876. 70% of these applications were from people from ethnic minority backgrounds.

Cybersecurity: Education

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, how many (a) schools and (b) students are participating in CyberFirst programmes in (i) Newcastle Central constituency and (ii) the North East.

Paul Scully: The National Cyber Security Centre delivers a range of initiatives through CyberFirst, including a schools and colleges recognition programme, the undergraduate bursary scheme, and the CyberFirst Girls Competition for 12-13 year olds. As part of this effort, DSIT also delivers the Cyber Explorers platform for 11-14 year olds.In the North East, girls from 17 schools entered the CyberFirst Girls Competition and 15 institutions are recognised as CyberFirst Schools and Colleges. Also, 80 schools participate in the Cyber Explorers online platform, including 6 in Newcastle Central.There are 89 undergraduate bursary students studying at universities in the North East. A further 2,283 learners are registered on Cyber Explorers, including 50 in Newcastle Central, as well as 122 students who have applied to attend a CyberFirst summer course at Durham University.

Cybersecurity: Education

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, whether her Department has made a recent assessment of the impact of (a) the Upskill in Cyber, (b) Cyber First and (c) Cyber Explorers programme on the level of skills shortages in cyber security.

Paul Scully: The Department has evaluated and developed the initial cohorts of the Upskill in Cyber, CyberFirst and Cyber Explorers programmes.The Upskill in Cyber programme ran a pilot cohort in 2022 and has just commenced its second cohort. This has provided 400 individuals with an opportunity to upskill into a career in cyber security. The National Cyber Security Centre CyberFirst programme delivers a range of initiatives, in partnership with over 200 industry partners and this supports approximately 15,000 young people annually. This is alongside Cyber Explorers, which has now reached 51,937 students across 2,078 schools.In order to close the annual shortfall of c.14,100 cyber professionals in the labour market, the government continues to engage closely with industry and academic partners to increase the range of opportunities available to individuals across all regions of the UK.

Cybersecurity: Education

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, what information her Department holds on the usage of the cyber explorers online learning platform in each region in the latest period for which data is available.

Paul Scully: Cyber Explorers was launched in February 2022 and has so far registered 51,937 students, 2,541 teachers and 2,078 schools. The regional breakdown for usage, as of June 2023, is set out below.RegionLearners RegisteredEducators RegisteredSchools RegisteredYorkshire and Humber5927201155East Midlands1385143136Wales24059472North East228310180South West7917274203North West7348299238Scotland3037205163Northern Ireland18576049West Midlands5568247204East of England4304235203South East5537402345Greater London4369280230 5193725412078

Ofcom: Managers

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 10 July 2023 to Question 191947 on Ofcom: Managers, how many times have former Ofcom employees joined a company regulated by Ofcom within 12 months of their employment ending with Ofcom in the last five years.

Sir John Whittingdale: Ofcom employees must advise their manager and / or senior people manager if they have accepted an offer of employment in a company regulated by Ofcom or an Ofcom supplier with whom they have had contact during their employment. Consideration is given to whether a conflict of interest may be triggered on a case-by-case basis and action taken as appropriate, such as removing the employee from an area of work or placing them on garden leave.Information on the company which an employee moves to when they leave Ofcom, and any action that Ofcom has taken if they consider there to be the potential for a conflict of interest to be triggered, is kept on the individual’s personnel file. The Government does not hold this information.

Ofcom: Managers

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 10 July 2023 to Question 191947 on Ofcom: Managers, what swift and appropriate actions can Ofcom take if a senior manager leaves to join a company it regulates.

Sir John Whittingdale: Ofcom has a robust conflicts of interest policy in place for employees which is reviewed regularly. This requires senior managers to advise the Director of People and Transformation and / or the Chief Executive if they have accepted an offer of employment at an employer with which Ofcom engages on work-related issues. Consideration is then given to any conflicts of interest which may be triggered and appropriate action taken, such as removing individuals from particular areas of work. This is considered on a case-by-case basis depending on the company the individual is moving to and the decisions for which they are responsible.Additionally, Executive Directors must notify the Chair (in the case of the Chief Executive) or the Chief Executive and Chair (in the case of other Executive Directors) where they have applied for, or are in discussion with a search agency about, a specific role in an Ofcom regulated firm or a sector significantly impacted by Ofcom regulation. The Chair and Chief Executive will consider whether and what action needs to be taken if a conflict of interest may be triggered, for example removing the individual from work involved in the regulation of the applicable sector or placing them on garden leave.All employees are required to keep confidential any information that they have been privy to because of their role at Ofcom and which is not in the public domain.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Ministers

Wendy Chamberlain: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, on how many occasions a request for a meeting by an hon. Member was not agreed to by (a) a Minister and (b) their office on behalf of a Minister in the last 12 months.

David Rutley: This information is not centrally collated and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. Ministers will regularly seek to engage with hon. Members, whilst balancing wider Ministerial and Parliamentary responsibilities.

Russia: Freezing of Assets

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his G7 counterparts on the (a) seizure and (b) repurposing of Russian state assets.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The Foreign Secretary made clear the UK's continued commitment to ensuring Russia pays for the long-term reconstruction of Ukraine. Alignment on approach is important, given the challenge. The G7 Leaders' made a commitment in May that sovereign assets remain immobilised until Russia pays for the damage it has caused to Ukraine. The G7 and international allies continue to work closely to deliver on this, share expertise and experience. The London Ukraine Recovery Conference in June brought together over 1,000 public and private sector decision makers. They represented 59 countries, 33 international organisations, over 400 businesses and 130 civil society organisations.

Russia: Freezing of Assets

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the changes to legislation in Canada which allows Russian assets forfeited in that country to be redistributed to Ukraine.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: No G7 country has yet seized assets through a new, legally tested mechanism. Canada remains a close partner on our Ukraine response and we continue to engage closely with them on this and many other issues. The UK will remain a credible partner on this by assuring ourselves of the safety, robustness and legality of any asset seizure proposal.

China: Espionage

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 11 July to Question 192153 on China: Espionage, whether the use of spy balloons by China is a bilateral and international issue which is of importance to UK interests.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The Integrated Review Refresh (IRR) sets out a new framework for responding to both traditional and emerging threats such as high altitude surveillance balloons, which we will not tolerate in our airspace, as well as our wider approach to China. The UK will further strengthen our national security where actions of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) pose a threat to our people, prosperity and security. Internationally, we will align with allies and partners to strengthen collective security and where necessary, push back against behaviours that undermine international law. Bilaterally, where it is in the UK interest to do so we will engage constructively with China.

West Bank: Development Aid

Nicola Richards: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of potential (a) bomb factories, (b) mines, (c) military equipment and (d) improvised explosive devices in Jenin.

David Rutley: The UK is actively monitoring the security situation in Jenin. We unequivocally condemn the use and possession of indiscriminate weapons by militant groups in Jenin, including improvised explosive devices (IEDs), which could harm civilians. The UK supports the Palestinian Authority's security jurisdiction in area 'A' of the West Bank, as agreed through the Oslo Accords. We call on the Palestinian Authority and government of Israel to cooperate in securing the safety and protection of civilians across the West Bank.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Dahua Technology and Hikvision

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether their Department has purchased products manufactured by (a) Hikvision and (b) Dahua in the last three years.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: As has been the case under successive administrations, it is not government policy to comment on the government's security arrangements. This includes any specific details regarding the make and model of security systems, which are withheld on national security grounds. Each Department is responsible for their own procurement decisions. However, I would refer the Hon. member to the Written Ministerial Statement made by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on 24 November 2022, which set out that Departments had been instructed to disconnect surveillance equipment from core departmental networks where it is subject to the National Intelligence Law of China.

China: Buddhism

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his counterparts in the People’s Republic of China on detentions of Buddhists in Tibet and across China.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The environment for Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) across China is restrictive, which includes the persecution of Buddhists.We work within international organisations and networks to promote and protect FoRB for all where it is threatened, including the UN, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the Council of Europe, and the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance.We coordinate with partners to draw international attention to the human rights situation in Tibet, most recently on 20 May 2023 in the G7 Leaders' Communique, and in March 2023, as part of our Item 4 statement at the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC).More generally, we regularly raise the human rights situation in China directly with the Chinese authorities at the highest levels. The Foreign Secretary did so in a meeting with the Chinese Vice President in May 2023.

Hong Kong: Arrest Warrants

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made representations to his counterpart in China on the arrest warrants for and HK$1 million bounty on eight self-exiled pro-democracy activists and law makers from Hong Kong.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: On 13 July, at the Foreign Secretary's instruction, his senior official conducted a formal démarche of the Chinese Ambassador. The senior official set out our strong objections to actions in Hong Kong in recent weeks, including the issuing of arrest warrants and bounties for eight individuals living overseas, three of whom live in the UK, as well as the detention and questioning of the family members of some of those individuals in Hong Kong. We also expressed our ongoing opposition to the imposition of the National Security Law by Beijing on Hong Kong, which is a breach of the Sino-British Joint Declaration.

Hong Kong: Arrest Warrants

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had discussions with his international counterparts on suspending extradition treaties to (a) Hong Kong and the (b) People’s Republic of China in the context of the issuing of arrest warrants by Hong Kong police for overseas Hong Kong activists, including three activists living in the UK.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: In response to China's imposition of the National Security Law on Hong Kong in 2020, we suspended the UK-Hong Kong extradition treaty immediately and indefinitely. We do not have an extradition treaty with China. Where they remain in force, we encourage countries to suspend their extradition treaties with Hong Kong and China. As I [Minister Trevelyan] stated in the House on 13 July, we will continue to work very closely with our international partners to stand up for the people of Hong Kong, to call out violations of their rights and freedoms, and to hold China to its international obligations.

Russia: Freezing of Assets

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if he will take steps to bring forward legislative proposals to allow Russian state assets held in the UK to be repurposed before the end of the calendar year.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: As the UK Government has made very clear in parliament and through collective statements at the G7, Russia should pay for the damage it has caused. We have showcased our continued commitment to that objective by introducing new legislation on 19 June to enable us to keep assets frozen until Russia pays compensation to Ukraine. While nothing is off the table, the UK will remain a credible partner on this by assuring ourselves of the safety, robustness and legality of any asset seizure proposal before taking it forward.

Myanma Economic Bank: Sanctions

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with international counterparts on possible sanctions on the Myanma Economic Bank.

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his US counterpart on that country's sanctions on the (a) Myanma Foreign Trade Bank and (b) Myanma Investment and Commercial Bank; and whether the Government is considering sanctioning those entities.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: Since the coup in February 2021, the UK has announced fifteen rounds of targeted sanctions on the military leadership, and those who seek to profit from supplying the regime. We will continue to work closely with international partners, including the US, EU, Canada and Australia, to take robust action to reduce the military's access to revenue, arms, and equipment. The UK is committed to targeted sanctions, which directly impact the military without harming the wider population. This will be a key consideration for any future designations. It would be inappropriate to speculate on future targets by either ourselves or our partners.

Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether his Department has received any legal advice on the compatibility of the Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill with the UK’s obligations under UN Security Council resolution 2334.

David Rutley: The Foreign Secretary has received advice from officials, including legal advice, on the bill. It is a longstanding convention for governments of all parties not to comment on the contents of government legal advice. The Government's position on the bill was set out by my RHF the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities during the debate on the second reading of the bill on 3 July. The bill does four things: it honours a manifesto promise to which this Government recommitted in the last Queen's speech; it affirms the important principle that UK foreign policy is a matter for the UK Government; it ensures that local authorities concentrate on serving their residents, not directing resources inefficiently; and, critically, it provides protection for minority communities, especially the Jewish community, against campaigns that harm community cohesion and fuel antisemitism.

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Politics and Government

Mr David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help support peace, stability and security in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Leo Docherty: The UK Government fully supports Bosnia and Herzegovina's (BiH) sovereignty and territorial integrity. We are working with political leaders in BiH and our international partners, to ensure BiH is a secure, safe and prosperous country, built on strong foundations of democracy and the rule of law, in line with our strategy across the Western Balkans. In the financial year 2022/23, the UK Government spent just over £47 million on programme activity supporting this vision across the Western Balkans and in April the Foreign Secretary announced an additional £1 million for BiH Armed Forces' defence capacity building.

British Indian Ocean Territory: Convictions

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many convictions there have been in the British Indian Ocean Territory in each of the last five years.

David Rutley: The British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) is constitutionally distinct and separate from the UK and is administered by the BIOT Administration. The FCDO does not hold a record of convictions in the Territory.

Ilois: Resettlement

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 23 June 2023 to Question 190052 on British Indian Ocean Territory: Resettlement, whether his Department has ever considered the people removed from the British Indian Ocean Territory in the 1960s to have been inhabitants of that Territory.

David Rutley: The UK has made clear its deep regret about the manner in which Chagossians were removed from the British Indian Ocean Territory in the late 1960s and early 1970s.The islands were uninhabited until the French established copra plantations using enslaved people specifically brought to the Archipelago for this purpose from 1793. In 1814, the islands were ceded to the UK by France.Over time, workers were recruited from Asia and Africa. By the time of their removal, all those on the islands were employees of the copra plantations or family members of an employee and were present on the islands because of the circumstances of that employment

Fundão Tailing Dam

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has met his Brazilian counterpart to discuss the ongoing impact of the Mariana Dam incident.

David Rutley: The UK Government regularly engages with the Brazilian Government on a wide range of issues, including the continuing impact of the Mariana Dam incident. Minister Docherty, the Minister of State for Europe, spoke at a Westminster Hall Debate on 22 June and mentioned ongoing work between the UK and Brazil to improve safety measures around tailings dam management. In 2019, following the collapse of the Brumadinho dam in Brazil, the Department for International Trade supported an initiative to publish the world's first Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management, to help improve safety worldwide. A partnership between the British Embassy in Brasilia and the Prosecutor's Office in the State of Minas Gerais led to the launch, in May 2022, of the world's first independent tailings dam monitoring centre in Brazil, which aims to improve safety and transparency in tailing dam management.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Disclosure of Information

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he is taking steps to ensure that staff in his Department who are under investigation for alleged misconduct are not named before those allegations are proven.

David Rutley: The FCDO's disciplinary policy makes clear that disciplinary matters are strictly confidential and identities of those involved are known only to those with a need to know in order to manage the case. The policy also makes clear that any breach of confidentiality would in itself be a disciplinary matter.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office: Artificial Intelligence

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what (a) algorithmic and (b) other automated decision making systems his Department uses; and for what purposes.

David Rutley: Automated decision-making refers to both solely automated decisions (no human judgment) and automated assisted decision-making (assisting human judgement). The FCDO is not using algorithmic or "automated decision making" tools or products.

Iran: British Nationals Abroad

Florence Eshalomi: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to secure the release of British hostages in Iran.

David Rutley: The UK does not, and never will, accept our nationals being used as diplomatic leverage.  The Iranian Government has put detained British nationals and their loved ones through unimaginably difficult ordeals, and it remains in Iran's gift to release any British National who has been unfairly detained. The Government continues to call out Iran's behaviour, including urging the Government of Iran to stop its practice of unfairly detaining British and other foreign nationals. With regard to individual detentions, our guiding principle is to act in the best interests of that individual. The Foreign Secretary, FCDO Ministers and - where appropriate - the Prime Minister are fully engaged in complex cases and have raised issues with foreign governments.

Lord Mayor of London

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many officials in his Department work on the Lord Mayor of London's Overseas Engagement Programme.

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what was the cost to the public purse of his Department's work on the Lord Mayor of London’s Overseas Engagement Programme in each year since 2010.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The FCDO has no recorded spend for the Lord Mayor of London's Overseas Engagement Programme. Any support by FCDO officials toward the organisation of this programme since 2010, will be minimal and not accounted for separately.

Sudan: Armed Conflict

Vicky Ford: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what diplomatic steps his Department is taking to discourage regional and other external actors from aiding conflict in Sudan through provision of financial, logistical or military support to factions in that country.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: We are pursuing all diplomatic avenues, including at the UN Security Council and Human Rights Council, and through cooperation with counterparts from African, Quad (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America) and European countries, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, the African Union and the United Nations, to end the violence in Sudan. We are also working through a new African Union-led Core Group to ensure inclusive regional and international action to secure a viable peace process. On 12 July, we announced a package of six sanctions under the Sudan (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020, freezing the assets of three commercial entities linked to each party involved in the conflict. These sanctions target entities which the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces have used to support their war efforts and are designed to press the parties to allow humanitarian assistance, end the violence and engage in a meaningful and sustained progress to peace. We will continue to use all our diplomatic levers to urge regional and external actors to support international efforts to bring the warring parties back to the negotiating table and end the conflict.

Sudan: Sanctions

Vicky Ford: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, if his Department will impose targeted sanctions on the financial networks of the warring parties in Sudan and on Sudanese individuals (a) inside and (b) outside the country who are advocating the continuation of the war and disseminating hate speech against Sudan’s civilian and political pro-democracy leaders.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: In response to the ongoing conflict and deteriorating humanitarian situation in Sudan, I announced on 12 July a UK package of six sanctions under the Sudan (Sanctions) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020. We are freezing the assets of three commercial entities linked to each party involved in the conflict: the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). These sanctions, which target entities which the SAF and RSF have used to support their war efforts, are designed to press the parties to engage in a sustained and meaningful peace process, allow humanitarian access and to commit to a permanent cessation of hostilities.

Sudan: Humanitarian Aid

Vicky Ford: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure humanitarian aid arriving at Port Sudan is reaching its intended recipients; and what discussions his Department has had with representatives of the UN on the steps being taken to help ensure de facto Sudanese authorities are facilitating humanitarian agencies work in Sudan.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK's top humanitarian priority for Sudan is to secure improved access and security guarantees for humanitarian agencies, whose operations are highly constrained by insecurity and restrictions on the movements of humanitarian aid and relief workers. The UK is working closely with the UN, neighbouring countries, donors and humanitarian agencies to put pressure on the warring parties to abide by their commitments under international humanitarian law and to allow lifesaving aid to reach those in need.  FCDO officials meet regularly with UN counterparts to discuss the present humanitarian challenges in Sudan.

Sudan: Armed Conflict

Vicky Ford: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his Department is taking as a member of the Core Group of the Expanded Mechanism under the leadership of the African Union to help ensure that tangible measures are taken by the African Union to tackle the conflict in Sudan.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The UK believes the African Union is best placed to coordinate an African-led international response to the crisis in Sudan. As a member of the African Union-led Core Group, the UK is working with regional and international partners to end hostilities in Sudan, push for urgently needed humanitarian access, particularly in Khartoum and Darfur, and to secure a viable peace process, including support for the emergence of an all-inclusive civilian and political platform for dialogue on a future vision for Sudan. We will continue to pursue all diplomatic avenues to secure an end to the violence, protection of civilians and humanitarian access. We urge both parties to the conflict to engage in an inclusive dialogue that will deliver a political transition to a democratic process as called for by the Sudanese people.

Sudan: Arms Trade

Vicky Ford: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the UK's position as the penholder on Sudan at the UN Security Council, if he will call for the expansion of the UN arms embargo to the whole of Sudan.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: There is a UN Arms Embargo and Sanctions Regime on Darfur, which we renewed in March 2023. There is also a longstanding bilateral UK arms embargo in place for the whole of Sudan. These regimes have been used to constrain the flow of weapons into the country and support efforts to stop those who pose a threat to stability in Darfur. The UN Arms Embargo and Sanctions Regime on Darfur will be reviewed by September 2024.

Sudan: Armed Conflict

Vicky Ford: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of establishing an informal Sudan Advisory Group which includes specialists on Sudan and on conflict and justice-related issues.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: In response to the outbreak of conflict on 15 April, the FCDO created an enhanced Sudan Unit, bringing in a range of specialist, including on humanitarian, conflict, and justice-related issues. The FCDO also regularly engages with a range of partners on the current issues facing Sudan. This includes engagement with the Sudanese diaspora community, NGOs, academics, domestic stakeholders and both international and regional partners on topics including conflict, atrocity prevention, human rights, and humanitarian assistance. These engagements have created opportunities for knowledge-sharing and for the UK to support international efforts to secure the permanent cessation of hostilities and a return to peace and stability in Sudan.

Wales Office

Domestic Visits: Newport West

Gerald Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, when a Minister in his Department last made an official visit to Newport West constituency.

David T C Davies: The Wales Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Domestic Visits: Newport East

Gerald Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, when a Minister in his Department last made an official visit to Newport East constituency.

David T C Davies: The Wales Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Domestic Visits: Neath

Gerald Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, when a Minister in his Department last made an official visit to Neath constituency.

David T C Davies: The Wales Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Domestic Visits: Ogmore

Gerald Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, when a Minister in his Department last made an official visit to Ogmore constituency.

David T C Davies: The Wales Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Domestic Visits: Pontypridd

Gerald Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, when a Minister in his Department last made an official visit to Pontypridd constituency.

David T C Davies: The Wales Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Domestic Visits: Gower

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, when a Minister from his Department last made an official visit to Gower constituency.

David T C Davies: The Wales Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department for Transport

Railway Stations: WiFi

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to make free wi-fi for passengers mandatory at railway stations.

Huw Merriman: There are currently no plans to bring forward legislative proposals to make free Wi-Fi at stations mandatory. Certain train operators are obligated to provide free public Wi-Fi at stations they manage as part of their Franchise Agreement commitments, while others may choose whether or not to provide station Wi-Fi. All Network Rail-managed stations - such as London Paddington, Birmingham New Street and Reading - offer free station Wi-Fi for public use.

Railway Stations: Liverpool City Region

Paula Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of closing train station ticket offices in the Liverpool Wavertree constituency on the (a) safety and (b) accessibility of passenger rail travel in the Liverpool City Region.

Huw Merriman: When proposing major changes to ticket office opening hours, including closures, operators are required to take into account the adequacy of the proposed alternatives in relation to the needs of all passengers; and to include this in the notice of the proposal sent to other operators and passenger groups. We would also expect operators to consider other equality related needs and make this clear in the notice sent to other operators and passenger groups. Together with industry, we want to improve and modernise the passenger experience by moving staff out from ticket offices to provide more help and advice in customer focused roles. No currently staffed station will be unstaffed as a result of industry changes, and train operators will ensure staff are well located to meet passenger needs in future.

Railways: Birmingham

Tahir Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department plans to provide additional funding to the Camp Hill railway line in Birmingham for increases in costs arising from the delay in opening that line until the end of 2024.

Huw Merriman: In Summer 2021 the Department released £59m of Rail Network Enhancement (RNEP) funding towards the delivery of five new stations, including three on the Camp Hill line.I understand from West Midlands Rail Executive (WMRE), who are responsible for managing delivery of the work, that the stations remain on budget despite the recent delay.

Railways: 5G

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of implementing rail-5G on trains for (a) passengers and (b) businesses.

Huw Merriman: The Department continues to work closely with Network Rail and industry to explore solutions to improve connectivity on trains, which includes the potential merit of implementing rail 5G. However, no decision has yet been taken.

Railways: 5G

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what progress he has made on implementing the Wireless Infrastructure Strategy recommendations on connectivity on rail networks and rail-5G.

Huw Merriman: The Department continues to work closely with Network Rail and industry to explore solutions to improve connectivity on trains, which includes rail 5G. This includes initiatives that assist with the Wireless Infrastructure Strategy such as Merseyail’s dedicated infrastructure solution, Network Rail’s procurement of a neutral host solution though Cellnex on the Brighton Mainline and Network Rail’s Project Reach. We have recently funded research which is underway to measure mobile coverage data along the rail network.

Railways: 5G

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of rolling out rail-5G on passenger trains.

Huw Merriman: The Department continues to work closely with Network Rail and industry to explore solutions to improve connectivity on trains, which includes rolling out rail 5G on passenger trains. However, no decision has yet been taken.

Railways: WiFi

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps he is taking with train operators to help facilitate a consistent availability of wi-fi on trains; and if he will make a statement.

Huw Merriman: DfT-franchised train operators are currently required, through their franchise agreements, to provide free passenger Wi-Fi on trains. In some cases, the train operators have also partnered with one or more mobile operators to improve the trackside coverage helping deliver a more consistent Wi-Fi service.However, our railways are currently not financially sustainable and the Department has asked rail operators to provide the commercial case for retaining passenger facing Wi-Fi. A decision will be taken on a case by case basis once the responses have been analysed by the Department.

Railways: Tickets

Louise Haigh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to publish the equalities impact assessments conducted by each train operating company on proposals to close rail ticket offices.

Huw Merriman: This is an industry led process where a train operator may put forward a proposal. Under the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement, when proposing major changes to ticket office opening hours (including closures) operators are required, amongst other things, to take into account the adequacy of the proposed alternatives in relation to the needs of passengers. We would also expect operators to consider equality related needs of passengers and make this clear in the notice sent to other operators and passenger groups.

Railways: West Midlands

Zarah Sultana: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of closing train station ticket offices in Coventry South constituency on the (a) safety and (b) accessibility of passenger rail travel in the West Midlands.

Huw Merriman: When proposing major changes to ticket office opening hours, including closures, operators are required to take into account the adequacy of the proposed alternatives in relation to the needs of all passengers; and to include this in the notice of the proposal sent to other operators and passenger groups. We would also expect operators to consider other equality related needs and make this clear in the notice sent to other operators and passenger groups. Together with industry, we want to improve and modernise the passenger experience by moving staff out from ticket offices to provide more help and advice in customer focused roles. No currently staffed station will be unstaffed as a result of industry changes, and train operators will ensure staff are well located to meet passenger needs in future.

Railways: North West

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment has been made of the potential impact of closing train station ticket offices in Warrington North constituency on the (a) safety and (b) accessibility of passenger rail travel in the North West.

Huw Merriman: When proposing major changes to ticket office opening hours, including closures, operators are required to take into account the adequacy of the proposed alternatives in relation to the needs of all passengers; and to include this in the notice of the proposal sent to other operators and passenger groups. We would also expect operators to consider other equality related needs and make this clear in the notice sent to other operators and passenger groups. Together with industry, we want to improve and modernise the passenger experience by moving staff out from ticket offices to provide more help and advice in customer focused roles. No currently staffed station will be unstaffed as a result of industry changes, and train operators will ensure staff are well located to meet passenger needs in future.

Railways: Tickets

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with South Western Railways on possible mitigations to the potential impact of rail ticket office closures on rail staff deployed in ticket offices.

Huw Merriman: The Department has regular meetings with South Western Railways, as it does with all train operating companies, to discuss a wide range of topics, including how best to operate stations and serve passenger needs in the most efficient and effective way.

Railways: Tickets

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with South Western Railways on the potential impact of ticket office closures on rail staff deployed in ticket offices.

Huw Merriman: The Department has regular meetings with South Western Railways, as it does with all train operating companies, to discuss a wide range of topics, including how best to operate stations and serve passenger needs in the most efficient and effective way. Together with industry we want to improve and modernise the passenger experience and moving staff out from behind the glass of ticket offices and into more visible and accessible roles around stations is a central part of this. Multiskilled staff will be on hand at all currently staffed stations, assisting those who need additional support or who cannot or do not want to use contactless or digital tickets, and helping passengers with their onward journey. Train operating companies will discuss employment matters with trade unions as part of their own collective bargaining processes.

Railways: Tickets

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he has had recent discussions South Western Railway on the potential impact of ticket office closures on (a) elderly and (b) disabled passengers.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what discussions he has had with South Western Railway on taking steps to support (a) elderly and (b) disabled passengers after the closure of ticket offices.

Huw Merriman: The Department has regular meetings with South Western Railways, as it does with all train operating companies, to discuss a wide range of topics, including how best to operate stations and serve passenger needs in the most efficient and effective way. When proposing major changes to ticket office opening hours, including closures, operators are required to take into account the adequacy of the proposed alternatives in relation to the needs of all passengers; and to include this in the notice of the proposal sent to other operators and passenger groups. We would also expect operators to consider other equality related needs and make this clear in the notice sent to other operators and passenger groups.

Railways: Tickets

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of proposed ticket office closures on rail staff deployed in ticket offices.

Huw Merriman: Together with industry we want to improve and modernise the passenger experience and moving staff out from behind the glass of ticket offices and into more visible and accessible roles around stations is a central part of this. Multiskilled staff will be on hand at all currently staffed stations, assisting those who need additional support or who can’t or do not want to use contactless or digital tickets, and helping passengers with their onward journey.  Train operating companies will discuss employment matters with trade unions as part of their own collective bargaining processes.

Roads: Accidents

James Daly: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many road casualties there have been involving (a) cars, (b) vans and (c) motorcycles per billion miles travelled in the latest period for which data is available.

Mr Richard Holden: The Department does not publish information on casualty rates for all casualties involved in road collisions by vehicle type. The published casualty rates are only where the casualty is in the same vehicle type as the relevant vehicle mileage by vehicle type. For example, the car occupant casualty rate only includes car occupant casualties per billion vehicle miles travelled by cars, irrespective of whether the collision may have involved casualties of other road users, such as pedal cyclist casualties and pedestrians. These casualty rates for users of (a) cars, (b) vans and (c) motorcycles per billion miles travelled in the latest period for which data is available, 2021, is given in the table below:Reported road casualty rates by severity and road user type, Great Britain: 2021Per billion vehicle milesRoad user type(a) Car320(b) Light goods vehicle72(c) Motorcycle6,259

Motor Vehicles: Excise Duties

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department plans to allow disabled people who are in receipt of the standard mobility award for Personal Independence Payment to pay their vehicle tax to the DVLA through a direct debit scheme.

Mr Richard Holden: Data on whether an individual is entitled to the enhanced or standard rate mobility component of the personal independence payment is held by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) is working with the DWP on how data can be shared securely and appropriately between the two departments. Once this has been established, the DVLA will consider the technical developments needed to allow such applications to be accepted online and to pay by direct debit.

Transport: Leicester

Claudia Webbe: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department plans to provide additional funding to help improve transport infrastructure between Leicester and (a) London and (b) other cities in the Midlands.

Mr Richard Holden: Yes.

Bus Services: Travel Information

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will hold discussions with Transport for London on the potential merits of providing live real time location information for bus services.

Mr Richard Holden: While the Department for Transport works closely with Transport for London (TfL) on a range of issues, transport in London is devolved and is the responsibility of the Mayor of London and TfL. This includes decisions on the operation of London’s bus services.

Railways: Yorkshire and the Humber

Richard Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment has been made of the potential impact of closing train station ticket offices in Leeds East on the (a) safety and (b) accessibility of passenger rail travel in Yorkshire.

Huw Merriman: When proposing major changes to ticket office opening hours, including closures, operators are required to take into account the adequacy of the proposed alternatives in relation to the needs of all passengers; and to include this in the notice of the proposal sent to other operators and passenger groups. We would also expect operators to consider other equality related needs and make this clear in the notice sent to other operators and passenger groups. Together with industry, we want to improve and modernise the passenger experience by moving staff out from ticket offices to provide more help and advice in customer focused roles. No currently staffed station will be unstaffed as a result of industry changes, and train operators will ensure staff are well located to meet passenger needs in future.

Cycling

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will take steps to help ensure that the requirements of design standard CD195, Designing for cycle traffic, are applied in all National Highways regions.

Mr Richard Holden: National Highways is committed to support all road users including walkers, cyclists and horse-riders. Its research and feedback, combined with insight from others such as Transport Focus, helps NH to understand how its services and roads may need to evolve to meet the needs of customers. CD 195 Designing for Cycle Traffic is one of a suite of documents that National Highways has to ensure the most appropriate provision is provided for walkers, cyclists and horse riders. National Highways are working with Active Travel England to ensure the design standards referenced are applied wherever practical, supporting the delivery of active travel provision across the network. All National Highways schemes are required to follow the GG142 Walking, Cycling and Horse-Riding Assessment and Review Process. This process enables designers to determine the most appropriate and proportionate type of facility for their scheme. This could be in the form of dedicated cycle provision designed to CD 195 Designing for Cycle Traffic, or it could be shared use walking and cycling facilities designed to CD 143 Designing for walking, cycling and horse-riding. As much of National Highways’ network is rural and located away from residential and industrial areas, providing shared use walking and cycling provision may often be a more proportionate approach for the anticipated levels of usage.

Motor Vehicles: Noise

Tulip Siddiq: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of introducing noise limits on motor vehicles.

Mr Richard Holden: Noise limits already apply to motor vehicles. These regulations are harmonised at an international level and require vehicles to demonstrate compliance with noise limits before being placed on the market. Once on the road, exhausts and silencers must be maintained in good working order and not modified to increase noise.

Railways: Tickets

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an estimate of the number and proportion of passengers who use rail ticket offices.

Huw Merriman: In 2022/23, around one in 10 transactions occurred at a ticket office, this is down from around one in three a decade earlier and equates to 13 per cent of total revenue.

Railways: Tickets

Samantha Dixon: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of railway station ticket office closures on people with disabilities; and what steps he is taking to mitigate the potential impact of railway station ticket office closures on people with disabilities.

Huw Merriman: When proposing major changes to ticket office opening hours, including closures, operators are required to take into account the adequacy of the proposed alternatives in relation to the needs of all passengers; and to include this in the notice of the proposal sent to other operators and passenger groups. We would also expect operators to consider other equality related needs and make this clear in the notice sent to other operators and passenger groups. The Department recently hosted roundtable discussions with industry and accessibility and transport groups to discuss this matter. We continue to engage with the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee. Together with the industry, we want to improve and modernise the passenger experience by moving staff out from ticket offices to provide more help and advice in customer focused roles. No currently staffed station will be unstaffed as a result of industry changes, and train operators will ensure staff are well located to meet passenger needs in future.

Tolls

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether he plans to devolve powers over road user charging to the devolved Administrations.

Mr Richard Holden: The Devolved Administrations already have extensive powers over road policy, including over road user charging.

Public Transport

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the potential impact of the level of labour shortages of (a) HGV and (b) public service vehicle drivers on the provision of public transport.

Mr Richard Holden: In response to the HGV driver shortage, the Government put in place 33 short, medium, and long-term interventions, such as increased driving test availability and the £34m investment from DfE to train up to 11,000 drivers through Skills Bootcamps.These interventions have begun to take effect, with industry bodies reporting positively that the number of HGV drivers is stabilising, and there is currently no severe disruption to critical sectors due to the driver shortage which we continue to monitor.Bus and coach driver shortages have been an issue but appear to be abating based on the latest intelligence from the sector.

Northern Ireland Office

Northern Ireland Office: Technology and Hikvision

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether their Department has purchased products manufactured by (a) Hikvision and (b) Dahua in the last three years.

Mr Steve Baker: As has been the case under successive administrations, it is not government policy to comment on the government’s security arrangements. This includes any specific details regarding the make and model of security systems, which are withheld on national security grounds. Each Department is responsible for their own procurement decisions. However, I would refer the Hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement made by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on 24 November 2022, which set out that Departments had been instructed to disconnect surveillance equipment from core departmental networks where it is subject to the National Intelligence Law of China.

Golf: Portrush

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will hold discussions with Invest Northern Ireland and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board on the potential for increasing tourism during the return of the Open Championship to Royal Portrush in 2025.

Mr Steve Baker: The Open Championship in 2025 represents an opportunity for Northern Ireland to showcase its world-class tourism capabilities, scenery and outstanding golfing facilities. Royal Portrush was a successful setting for the 2019 Open Championship. The Government would be glad to work with an incoming Northern Ireland Executive, and Northern Ireland Economy Minister, on maximising the economic benefits of the event.

Domestic Visits: Belfast East

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when a Minister from his Department last made an official visit to the Belfast East constituency.

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when a Minister from his Department last visited Belfast North constituency.

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when a Minister from his Department last visited Belfast South constituency.

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when a Minister from his Department last visited Belfast West constituency.

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when a Minister from his Department last visited East Antrim constituency.

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when a Minister from his Department last visited East Londonderry constituency.

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when a Minister from his Department last visited Fermanagh and South Tyrone constituency.

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when a Minister from his Department last made an official visit to the Foyle constituency.

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when a Minister from his Department last visited Lagan Valley constituency.

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when a Northern Ireland Office Minister last made an official visit to Mid Ulster constituency.

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when a Minister from his Department last visited Newry and Armagh constituency.

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when a Minister from his Department last visited North Antrim constituency.

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when a Minister from his Department last visited North Down constituency.

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when a Minister from his Department last visited South Antrim constituency.

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when a Minister from his Department last visited South Down constituency.

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when a Minister from his Department last visited Strangford constituency.

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when a Minister from his Department last visited Upper Bann constituency.

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, when a Minister from his Department last visited West Tyrone constituency.

Chris Heaton-Harris: My Ministers and I regularly travel to Northern Ireland for a variety of engagements. The following are the most recent visits made by Northern Ireland Office Ministers to each constituency in Northern Ireland: Belfast East - 28th June 2023 Belfast North - 7th June 2023 Belfast South - 16th June 2023 Belfast West - 16th April 2023 East Antrim - 15th June 2023 East Londonderry - 18th May 2023 Fermanagh and South Tyrone - 8th May 2023 Foyle - 18th May 2023 Lagan Valley - 25th May 2023 Mid Ulster - 8th September 2022 Newry & Armagh - 16th November 2022 North Antrim - 15th April 2023 North Down - 25th May 2023 South Antrim - 7th June 2023 South Down - 28th June 2023 Strangford - 15th August 2022 Upper Bann - 12th July 2023 West Tyrone - 7th March 2023

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Heating: Social Rented Housing

Helen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an estimate of the number of installations of clean heat technologies there have been in social housing in the period since the closure of the domestic renewable heat incentive.

Graham Stuart: The Department does not hold specific information on the total number of clean heat installations in social housing.The Government ‘Help to Heat’ schemes: Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund (SHDF), Energy Company Obligation (ECO) and the Home Upgrade Grant (HUG) support the installation of clean heat in social housing. Please see the gov.uk website for statistics on these schemes: SHDF, ECO, HUG.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero: Dahua Technology and Hikvision

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether their Department has purchased products manufactured by (a) Hikvision and (b) Dahua in the last three years.

Graham Stuart: As has been the case under successive administrations, it is not Government policy to comment on the Government’s security arrangements. This includes any specific details regarding the make and model of security systems, which are withheld on national security grounds.Each Department is responsible for their own procurement decisions. However, I would refer the hon. member to the Written Ministerial Statement made by the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on 24 November 2022, which set out that Departments had been instructed to disconnect surveillance equipment from core departmental networks where it is subject to the National Intelligence Law of China.

Carbon Capture and Storage: Israel

John Howell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has had discussions with his Israeli counterpart on Israeli research grants for carbon capture projects; and whether his Department is providing grants for businesses engaging with carbon capture projects in the UK on a similar basis to those in Israel.

Graham Stuart: The UK Government is committed to convene and lead international engagement on CCUS through engaging in multilateral fora and fostering bilateral relationships to collaborate and share lessons on CCUS. Domestically, In March 2023 we announced up to £20 billion funding for early deployment of CCUS across all sectors. This includes the £1 billion Carbon Capture Usage and Storage (CCUS) Infrastructure Fund, supporting the ambition for CCUS in four industrial clusters by 2030 at the latest. This follows previous UK Government investment into CCUS between­ 2004 and 2021 the UK Government has invested over £346 million into CCUS Research, Development and Deployment (RD&D). This funding has ensured the UK remains at the forefront of CCUS Research and Innovation, developing the skills, knowledge, and technology to allow the UK to deploy CCUS domestically and export our expertise around the world.

Iron and Steel: Environment Protection

Stephen Kinnock: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to support the commercialisation of science and technology research in green steel.

Graham Stuart: Science and technology research in green steel is still at an early stage of development and hence has not reached the point of commercialisation. But development of science and technology in green steel is being supported by a number of programmes including SUSTAIN (Future steel manufacturing research Hub) funded by £10m EPSRC funding and studies undertaken as part of the £55m NZIP Industrial Fuel Switching programme.

Energy: Meters

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of transferring responsibility for the installation of smart meters from energy suppliers to energy infrastructure companies.

Amanda Solloway: The decision to proceed with an energy supplier-led rollout, supported by a central communications infrastructure, was taken following a wide assessment of options and extensive stakeholder consultation in 2009. The Government concluded that this approach would have more consumer benefits as suppliers had existing, direct relationships with their customers, unlike energy infrastructure companies and it avoided the costs of changing responsibility for metering services. The Government consider that this remains the right approach for the installation of smart meters and changing it at this stage would slow down rollout progress considerably, reducing the resultant benefits for consumers and the energy system.

Energy: Meters

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of using financial incentives to encourage radio teleswitch meter users to transfer to smart meters.

Amanda Solloway: The Government expects that by transferring to smart meters, Radio Teleswitch Service users will be able to access a better range of competitive, flexible and dynamic tariffs, that reward them for using electricity away from peak times, or when there is excess clean electricity available. In addition, smart meter enabled energy savings mean a typical household on a dual fuel tariff on average will currently save £46 annually. Energy suppliers are responsible for the financial incentives they offer to their customers, and the effectiveness of such approaches is a matter for individual companies.

Energy Ombudsman

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what recent assessment he has made of the whether retail energy companies are implementing remedies determined by the Energy Ombudsman within the 28-day compliance period.

Amanda Solloway: Under the Energy Ombudsman’s Terms of Reference agreed with Ofgem, if an energy company fails to implement remedies determined by the Ombudsman and accepted by the consumer and the company within 28 days, the Ombudsman can refer the company to Ofgem and notify the consumer of their rights to pursue the implementation of the remedy directly, by asking the court to enforce it

Nuclear Reactors: USA

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department holds data on the estimate of the cost of the proposed NuScale small modular reactor in the United States.

Andrew Bowie: The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero regularly engages with a variety of Small Modular Reactor vendors about their technologies. The Government is not able to disclose any cost estimates for vendors beyond what is already in the public domain, given that this is commercially sensitive information.

Warm Home Discount Scheme

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that Warm Home Discount payments are being passed on to customers by energy providers.

Amanda Solloway: The Government sets the annual spending envelope and, under the Warm Home Discount scheme in England and Wales, identifies eligible households through data matching with participating energy suppliers.  The Government sends ‘instructions to pay’ to energy suppliers to provide payments to these customers. Energy suppliers are legally required to provide the rebates to those customers, or provide a reason why they cannot, once they have received an instruction to pay. Ofgem monitors suppliers’ compliance against their obligation.

Warm Home Discount Scheme

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has made an assessment of the implications for its policies of the position where Warm Home Discount payments have been issued to energy suppliers but not applied to eligible customer accounts; and if he will make a statement.

Amanda Solloway: The Government sets the annual spending envelope and, under the Warm Home Discount scheme in England and Wales, identifies eligible households through data matching with participating energy suppliers. However, the rebates are not funded by the Government; energy suppliers are responsible for providing the payments. The Government sends ‘instructions to pay’ to energy suppliers to provide payments to these customers. Energy suppliers are legally required to provide the rebates to those customers, or provide a reason why they cannot, once they have received an instruction to pay. Ofgem monitors suppliers’ compliance against their obligation.

Electric Cables: Seas and Oceans

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department is participating in work on a proposed sub sea energy cable from Scotland to Norway.

Kenny MacAskill: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if his Department will make representations to Norway on that country's decision not to proceed with a sub sea cable between Scotland and Norway.

Graham Stuart: The UK and Norway have a bilateral treaty on electricity interconnection which underpins the close cooperation on further interconnection between the UK and Norway. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uknorway-agreement-on-cross-border-trade-in-electricity-and-cooperation-on-electricity-interconnection-ts-no182021 National Grid Ventures and Statnett jointly own an electricity interconnector, North Sea Link, between Great Britain and Norway (1.4 GW) which has been in operation since October 2021.

Treasury

National Savings and Investments: Environment Protection

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of National Savings and Investments green savings bonds at raising capital for green projects.

Andrew Griffith: National Savings and Investments’ (NS&I’s) core purpose is to raise cost effective financing for the Government. Green Savings Bonds are currently offered at a 4.20% interest rate to UK savers. As with all products NS&I keeps these interest rates under review and will continue to align with its operational framework, which is to ensure that NS&I remains cost-effective for the government whilst balancing the interests of its savers, tax payers and the market.Every year the list of projects funded by the Green Savings Bond is published in the Allocation Report, the environmental impacts of these projects is then published in the Impact Report biennially, the first of which is due later in 2023. Previous reports are available here: www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-government-green-financing

Financial Services: Environment Protection

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what next steps his Department plans to take following its consultation on the UK Green Taxonomy.

Andrew Griffith: The 2023 Green Finance Strategy set out the Government’s commitment to deliver a UK Green Taxonomy. This will support the quality of standards, labels and disclosures used in the industry for green finance activity. We expect to consult on the Taxonomy in Autumn 2023. Following the consultation, we will analyse responses and provide a government response in accordance with Cabinet Office consultation principles, with a view to finalising the Taxonomy.

Public Sector: Northern Ireland

Colum Eastwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps his Department plans to take to implement public sector pay rises in Northern Ireland.

John Glen: The Government is accepting the headline pay recommendations of the independent Pay Review Bodies in full for 2023/24. This will be funded from within existing department budgets through a combination of greater efficiency and reprioritisation. Equivalent decisions in Northern Ireland are devolved.

Trade Marks: Registration

Ian Murray: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make an assessment of the effectiveness of the Financial Conduct Authority's procedures for authorising the association of multiple trading names with a single registration.

Andrew Griffith: The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is an operationally independent non-governmental body responsible for regulating and supervising the financial services industry. Although the Treasury sets the legal framework for the regulation of financial services, the FCA is responsible for developing and implementing rules, including relating to trading names. Further information on the FCA’s approach is available on its website. Through the Financial Services Act 2021, the government granted the FCA new powers to remove permissions from firms when they are not carrying out the regulated activities they are permitted to. The FCA has since undertaken a ‘use it or lose it’ exercise, removing firms’ permissions where they are not carrying out regulated activities. This has seen the FCA carry out 1,090 assessments in 2021/22 and resulted in 264 firms applying to voluntarily cancel, and a further 47 to modify, their permission to carry out regulated activities. Ministers regularly engage with the FCA on a range of issues while recognising that the independence of the FCA is critical to its functions.

Attorney General

Offensive Weapons: Prosecutions

Steve Reed: To ask the Attorney General, what percentage of possession of weapon cases were stopped after a defendant had been charged due to a victim no longer supporting the prosecution in each year since 2010.

Michael Tomlinson: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not have a central record showing the number of cases of possessing a weapon which could not proceed because a victim no longer supports the prosecution.

Robbery: Prosecutions

Steve Reed: To ask the Attorney General, what percentage of robbery cases stopped after a defendant had been charged due to a victim no longer supporting the case for prosecution in each year since 2010.

Michael Tomlinson: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not have a central record showing the number of robbery cases stopped because a victim no longer supports the prosecution.

Offensive Weapons: Prosecutions

Steve Reed: To ask the Attorney General, what percentage of possession of weapon cases were stopped after a defendant had been charged due to a victim no longer supporting the case for prosecution in each year since 2010.

Michael Tomlinson: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not have a central record showing the number of cases of possessing a weapon which could not proceed because a victim no longer supports the prosecution.

Fraud: Prosecutions

Steve Reed: To ask the Attorney General, what percentage of fraud cases were stopped after a defendant had been charged due to a victim no longer supporting the prosecution in each year since 2010.

Michael Tomlinson: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not have a central record showing the number of fraud cases stopped because a victim no longer supports the prosecution.

Theft: Prosecutions

Steve Reed: To ask the Attorney General, what proportion of theft cases were stopped after a defendant had been charged due to a victim no longer supported the prosecution in each year since 2010.

Michael Tomlinson: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not have a central record showing the number of theft cases stopped because a victim no longer supports the prosecution.

Department for Work and Pensions

Public Lavatories: Men

Andrew Selous: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 26 June 2023 to Question 189864 on Public Lavatories: Men, what the expected timescale is for when the Health and Safety Executive will have concluded its review of the guidance on the disposal of sanitary dressings in toilets; and whether the guidance will be open to public consultation.

Mims Davies: Officials at the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) will ensure web-based guidance is clear that provisions must be made for any workers with a disability to enable them to have access to facilities which are adjusted to their use if necessary. This work is in hand and will be completed in the autumn. As this is a simple clarification, it will not be open for public consultation. HSE is the workplace regulator therefore the legislation and guidance will apply to toilets for used by workers in workplaces, made available to them as a place of work.

Universal Credit: Arthritis

Sir George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to support people with arthritis to remain in part time work in line with their condition in the context of Universal Credit threshold changes.

Tom Pursglove: The Administrative Earnings Threshold (AET) determines the level of Work Coach support that Universal Credit claimants receive. The purpose of raising the AET was to ensure that more UC claimants on low incomes are provided with regular Work Coach support to help them grow their earnings. Any work-related requirements are agreed in discussion between the Work Coach and the claimant. These should always be tailored and personalised to reflect the claimant’s health condition, disability, caring responsibilities, and circumstances (including whether they are currently working), ensuring that any requirements are realistic and achievable. Where someone is currently working, work-related activities are expected to focus on helping that person to increase their earnings and move into better paid quality jobs. In order to provide support to disabled people and people with health conditions, including people with arthritis, to start, stay, and succeed in work, the Government delivers an extensive programme of specialist initiatives. Support to remain in work includes:Access to Work grants helping towards extra costs of working beyond standard reasonable adjustments;Disability Confident, encouraging employers to think differently about disability and health, and to take positive action to address the issues disabled employees face in the workplace;An online Information Service called “Support with Employee Health and Disability”, providing better integrated and tailored guidance on supporting health and disability in the workplace;Increasing access to occupational health, including the testing of financial incentives for small and medium-sized enterprises and the self-employed;Work in partnership between the DWP and the health system, including:o Employment Advice in NHS Talking Therapies, which combines psychological treatment and employment support for people with mental health conditions; ando The Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care (IPSPC) programme, a Supported Employment model (place, train and maintain) delivered in health settings, aimed at people with physical or common mental health disabilities to support them to access paid jobs in the open labour market. Building on our existing programme, we announced a wide-reaching package at the Spring Budget to support disabled people and people with health conditions to work.New investment broadens access to additional Work Coach support for disabled people and people with health conditions, introduces a new supported employment programme (Universal Support) and focuses on providing faster access to joined-up work and health support, including for mental health and musculoskeletal conditions, the two leading causes of economic inactivity due to long term sickness.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Mr Jonathan Lord: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to use technological innovations to (a) find and (b) prevent fraud in the welfare system.

Tom Pursglove: The department continues to explore the application of cutting-edge technology, including artificial intelligence and machine learning to prevent, detect and deter those who would try to cheat the system, whilst also supporting genuine and vulnerable claimants.Details of our work in this area are set out in the DWP annual report and accounts 2022 to 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Housing Benefit: Autism

Virginia Crosbie: To ask the Secretary of State for Work Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of exempting people with autism from the under occupancy penalty on the grounds of their sensory needs.

Mims Davies: The removal of the spare room subsidy (RSRS) policy seeks to encourage greater mobility within the social rented sector. There are no plans to review the policy, and there are easements which allow for the provision of an additional bedroom in certain circumstances, such as to support the needs of disabled people. Where a member of the household is, by virtue of their disability, not able to share a bedroom and is in receipt of a qualifying disability benefit, they are entitled to claim for an additional bedroom. The same applies where someone requires and receives overnight care on a regular basis from a non-resident carer, providing they meet qualifying criteria. Where additional support is required, Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs) are available for those who face a shortfall in meeting their housing costs. Since 2011 we have provided nearly £1.6 billion in funding to local authorities for DHPs.

Employment: Chronic Illnesses and Disability

Mr Jonathan Lord: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to support people with disabilities and long-term health conditions into work.

Tom Pursglove: The Government delivers an extensive programme of initiatives to support disabled people, and people with health conditions, including people with long-term health conditions, to start, stay, and succeed in work. These include:Increased Work Coach support in Jobcentres for disabled people and people with health conditions receiving Universal Credit or Employment and Support Allowance;Disability Employment Advisers in Jobcentres offering advice and expertise on how to help disabled people and people with health conditions into work;The Work and Health Programme and Intensive Personalised Employment Support, providing tailored and personalised support for disabled people;Access to Work grants helping towards extra costs of working beyond standard reasonable adjustments;Disability Confident, encouraging employers to think differently about disability and health, and to take positive action to address the issues disabled employees face in the workplace;An online Information Service called “Support with Employee Health and Disability”, providing better integrated and tailored guidance on supporting health and disability in the workplace;Increasing access to occupational health, including the testing of financial incentives for small and medium-sized enterprises and the self-employed;Work in partnership between the DWP and the health system, including:o Employment Advice in NHS Talking Therapies, which combines psychological treatment and employment support for people with mental health conditions; ando The Individual Placement and Support in Primary Care (IPSPC) programme, a Supported Employment model (place, train and maintain) delivered in health settings, aimed at people with physical or common mental health disabilities to support them to access paid jobs in the open labour market. Building on our existing programme, we announced a wide-reaching package at the Spring Budget to support disabled people and people with health conditions to work. New investment broadens access to additional Work Coach support for disabled people and people with health conditions, introduces a new supported employment programme (Universal Support) and focuses on providing faster access to joined-up work and health support, including for mental health and musculoskeletal conditions, the two leading causes of economic inactivity due to long term sickness.

Personal Independence Payment: Medical Examinations

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to reduce waiting times for PIP assessments.

Tom Pursglove: We are committed to ensuring that people can access financial support through Personal Independence Payment (PIP) in a timely manner. Reducing customer journey times for PIP claimants is a priority for the department and we are working constantly to make improvements to our service. We always aim to make an award decision as quickly as possible, taking into account the need to review all available evidence, including that from the claimant. We are continuing to see an improvement in PIP clearance times with the latest statistics showing that the average end-to-end journey has reduced each quarter from 26 weeks in August 2021 to 13 weeks at the end of April 2023. This is because we’re: Using a blend of phone, video and face-to-face assessments to support customers and deliver a more efficient and user-centred service;Increasing case manager and assessment provider health professional resource; andPrioritising new claims, whilst safeguarding claimants awaiting award reviews, who have returned their information as required, to ensure their payments continue until their review can be completed.

Access to Work Programme: Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Disorders

Sir George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people with (a) arthritis and (b) a musculoskeletal condition claimed support through Access to Work in 2022.

Tom Pursglove: The information requested about the number of people with arthritis and musculoskeletal conditions that claimed support through Access to Work is not readily available and to provide it would incur a disproportionate cost.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will publish his Department's detailed plans to evaluate the performance of the Targeted Case Reviews initiative.

Tom Pursglove: Targeted Case Review is a long-term initiative. Our newly formed Targeted Case Review team is reviewing millions of Universal Credit claims for fraud and error. Our plans are progressing at pace and through continuous improvement we are assessing progress and evaluating initial performance.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to Figure 7 on page 297 of his Department's Annual Report and Accounts 2022-23, if he will provide further details on what is being provided through funding for extra resource for Counter Fraud and Compliance over the Spending Review period.

Tom Pursglove: We continue to use additional investment to build on our existing fraud and error work, as set out in the department’s Annual Report and Accounts, DWP annual report and accounts 2022 to 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). This includes enhancing our counter-fraud resources and investing in the use of data and analytics to identify potential fraud and error.

Guaranteed Minimum Pensions

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he plans to extend Guaranteed Minimum Pension protections to pensions accrued before 1988.

Laura Trott: For people reaching State Pension age before 6 April 2016, in some circumstances, the additional State Pension can have the effect of price protection on Guaranteed Minimum Pensions (GMPs) accrued between 6 April 1978 and 5 April 1988. The additional State Pension, and with it in-effect indexation, was replaced by the new State Pension for people reaching State Pension age from 6 April 2016. The transitional rules of new State Pension can be beneficial to people who have been contracted out and further information about this can be found here [[link]] Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP) and the effect of the new State Pension - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) There are no plans to change these arrangements.

Social Security Benefits: Fraud

Mr Jonathan Lord: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department’s plan on Fighting Fraud in the Welfare System, published on 19 May 2022.

Laura Trott: The Fraud Plan set out our ambitions in three key areas. We are making good progress in delivering our investment in frontline services and bringing together the full force of the private and public sectors. Decisions on legislation are for the King’s Speech.

Local Housing Allowance: Greater London

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make (a) an estimate of average housing rental costs and (b) an assessment of the adequacy of local housing allowance rates in (i) Enfield North constituency, (ii) the London Borough of Enfield and (iii) London; and if he will make a statement.

Mims Davies: The Department collects rental data necessary for calculating UC or HB payments for its claimants, therefore we cannot produce an estimate of average housing rental costs for all rental properties in specific geographical areas. The Valuation Office Agency collects data on rental costs in England to produce the 30th percentile of market rents and publishes the list of rents utilised to calculate this. The latest list of rents for the period 1st October 2021 to 30th September 2022 is published here. For figures specific to Enfield, Enfield North, and London please refer to the table below. Geographical AreaProportion of Households with a shortfallAverage Monthly ShortfallEnfield North Constituency39%£213Enfield Local Authority37%£213London (Region)41%£244 For detailed information on LHA rates and Government support, please refer to the answer given to PQ191728/191729.

Universal Credit: Deductions

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 8 June 2023 to Question 187662 on Universal Credit: Deductions, if he will provide the data set out in table one for the periods (a) March 2020 to February 2021 and (b) March 2021 to February 2022.

Guy Opperman: The information requested is provided in the table below. Table 1: Number and value of third party debts registered against Universal Credit householdsbetween March 2020 and February 2021 and March 2021 and February 2022 Type of DebtMar-20 to Feb-21Mar-21 to Feb-22Number of Debts registeredTotal Amount of Debt RegisteredNumber of Debts registeredTotal Amount of Debt RegisteredCouncil Tax134,100£63,600,000177,800£88,500,000Electricity Arrears7,200£9,330,0008,500£11,820,000Fines250,300£207,460,000274,400£216,810,000Gas Arrears5,900£5,580,0006,600£6,740,000Mortgage Interest10£10,00010£5,000Owner Occupied Service Charges80£120,00060£100,000Water Arrears34,200£33,980,00048,800£53,640,000Total431,800£320,080,000516,300£377,620,000 Notes:1. The number of debts has been rounded to the nearest hundred, except for Mortgage Interest and Owner Occupier Service charges, which have been rounded to the nearest 10 due to low numbers. Total debt amounts have been rounded to the nearest £10,000 except Mortgage Interest, which has been rounded to the nearest £1,000 due to low values.2. The registration date for debts is defined as the date the Third Party debt was created.3. Ongoing consumption deductions for gas, water and electricity are excluded from the total amount of debt. These don’t have a debt amount as they are deductions to pay for ongoing monthly usage. They should only be applied to claims with existing energy / water arrears so households with both arrears and ongoing consumption deductions will be counted in the number of debts registered in the water and energy debt categories.4. From April 2020 to July 2020, a temporary freeze on government and third party deductions was introduced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.5. On 12th April 2021, the maximum deductions limit was reduced from 30% of the standard allowance to 25%. In May 2021, the additional court fines deduction was removed lowering the rate to 5% of standard allowance.6. Some households may have had more than one debt registered against their Universal Credit claim, so may appear more than once in these statistics.7. Figures are provisional and are subject to retrospective change as later data becomes available

Ministry of Justice

Theft: Prosecutions

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of theft cases in which the victim or witness no longer supported the prosecution were stopped on the day of trial in each year since 2010.

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what data his Department holds on the percentage of fraud cases which did not proceed due to a victim or witness no longer supporting the case for prosecution on the day of trial in each year since 2010.

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what percentage of robbery cases were ended where a victim or witness no longer supported the case for prosecution on the day of trial in each year since 2010.

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what percentage of possession of weapon cases were stopped where a victim or witness no longer supported the case for prosecution on the day of trial in each year since 2010.

Edward Argar: The percentage of cases where prosecution offers no evidence because the victim or witness no longer supports prosecution for theft, fraud, robbery and possession of weapons offence can be found in the below table.The table details the cases in which the victim or witness no longer supports prosecution on the day of trial (%) by selected offence group, England and Wales, 2014-2023 (data for 2023 covers only the period from January to March, the latest available).YearAll offencesRobberyTheft offencesPossession of weaponsFraud offences20142.1%3.1%2.0%3.8%0.5%20151.8%3.1%2.1%2.6%0.5%20161.9%3.4%2.6%2.9%0.5%20172.0%3.8%2.3%3.2%1.0%20181.9%3.3%2.0%3.2%0.4%20191.9%2.8%2.1%3.0%0.4%20201.7%2.5%2.4%2.5%1.0%20211.5%3.1%2.5%1.8%0.7%20221.4%3.0%2.4%1.4%0.2%20231.5%3.7%2.4%2.1%0.7%The data presented covers trials which do not go ahead on the listed trial data as the "prosecution offers no evidence because the witness/victim no longer supports prosecution". This is measured as a proportion of all listed trials in that period, excluding trial vacations.The data is first published as part of the National Statistics series ‘Criminal Court Statistics Quarterly’, latest data available to March 2023. The data is only available from 2014 onwards.

Ministry of Justice: Dahua Technology and Hikvision

Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether their Department has purchased products manufactured by (a) Hikvision and (b) Dahua in the last three years.

Mike Freer: As has been the case under succussive administrations, is not government policy to comment on the government’s security arrangements. This includes any specific details regarding the make and model of security systems.

Courts: Administrative Delays

Mr Jonathan Lord: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the backlog of criminal court cases.

Mike Freer: We remain committed to reducing the outstanding caseload in the Crown Court and have introduced a series of measures since the start of the pandemic to increase capacity of the courts, and to improve the experience of court users and delivery of swift justice.Steps taken to maximise court capacity and optimise efficiency include: extending unlimited sitting days in the Crown Court for the last two financial years; opening two new ‘super courtrooms’ in Manchester and Loughborough; extending the use of 24 Nightingale courtrooms beyond March 2023 to provide additional capacity for all jurisdictions; passing the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act so that remote hearings can be used in criminal proceedings; recruiting up to 1,000 judges across jurisdictions in 2022/23; retaining an extra 400 judges and tribunal members (per year) by raising the statutory mandatory retirement age; and increasing spending on criminal legal aid by £141 million a year.

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Disclosure of Information

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she is taking steps to ensure that staff in her Department who are under investigation for alleged misconduct are not named before those allegations are proven.

Sir John Whittingdale: Allegations of misconduct against a Department for Culture, Media and Sport employee are internally investigated under either the department’s Grievance or Whistleblowing Policy & Procedures. Investigations of this nature are carried out in strict confidence. Names of individuals under investigation are therefore not made public, either within the department or externally. The Department's policies follow Civil Service HR's wider model policies and best practices.

Public Service Broadcasting: Advertising

Lucy Powell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had discussions with Ofcom on changes to COSTA advertising rules for public service broadcasters; and whether her Department was given a copy of Ofcom's impact assessment on these changes.

Sir John Whittingdale: The department routinely engages with Ofcom on matters relating to broadcast advertising. In accordance with their duties under section 24A of the Communications Act 2003 (as inserted by the Digital Economy Act 2017), Ofcom shared their consultation on the proposed revisions to the rules governing the quantity and scheduling of television advertising on public service broadcasting channels with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport the day before publication.The consultation sets out how Ofcom considers its proposals fit with its duties under the Communications Act 2003 and includes research exploring the potential audience impact of changes to their rules.This issue is ultimately at the discretion of Ofcom as the independent regulator administering the Code. Ofcom plans to publish a statement in response to their consultation in due course.

BBC: Pay

Mr Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if she will hold discussions with the Director General of the BBC on the adequacy of the BBC's transparency practices for publishing relevant BBC-related outside earnings of senior BBC presenters.

Sir John Whittingdale: As a public service broadcaster, the Government expects the BBC to be as open and transparent as possible.Since the beginning of 2021, the BBC has published a quarterly summary of the paid-for external events undertaken by on-air staff in journalism and senior leaders.The BBC’s external events register can be seen here.

BBC: Local Press

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has had recent discussions with (a) the BBC and (b) Ofcom on the potential impact of the proposals set out in the paper by the BBC entitled The BBC Across the UK, published on 18 March 2021, on local news providers.

Sir John Whittingdale: I refer the Hon. Member to the reply given to the Hon. Member for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr on 6 July 2023, PQ UIN 192065.

Scotland Office

Scotland Office: Disclosure of Information

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, whether he is taking steps to ensure that staff in his Department who are under investigation for alleged misconduct are not named before those allegations are proven.

Mr Alister Jack: The Scotland Office does not employ any staff directly; all staff that join do so on an assignment, loan or secondment from other government bodies, principally the Ministry of Justice and the Scottish Government, who remain the employers and whose HR Policies apply. Both Ministry of Justice and Scottish Government policies follow the Civil Service HR’s wider model discipline policy, which makes it clear that disciplinary matters are strictly confidential. Confidentiality applies to everyone involved in the matter and is equally important after the matter has concluded.

United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child: Scotland

Patrick Grady: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what recent discussions he has had with the Scottish Government on the status of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill.

Mr Alister Jack: The Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Shirley-Anne Somerville MSP, wrote to me on 29 June, setting out the Scottish Government's proposed course of action to bring their United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Bill in line with the 2021 Supreme Court judgment. It has always been the responsibility of the Scottish Government to determine how they will comply with the requirements of the Supreme Court judgment.

Department for Business and Trade

Department for Business and Trade: Remote Working

Julian Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to the civil service headquarters occupancy data, updated on 6 July 2023, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of occupancy rates on her Department's performance during June 2023.

Nigel Huddleston: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 16th June 2023 to Question 187689.

Electric Scooters: Batteries

Daniel Zeichner: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment she has made of the seriousness of the fire risk posed by lithium batteries in e-scooters.

Kevin Hollinrake: The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) has established a safety study to understand the risks presented by e-bikes and e-scooters. This includes understanding available data, investigating incidents, enforcement action when needed, targeting unsafe products at the border, and providing public safety information on safe use and charging. OPSS commissioned Warwick Manufacturing Group, part of Warwick University, to conduct research examining the safety of the lithium-ion batteries within Personal Light Electric Vehicles. These activities form part of cross Government work involving the Home Office, Department for Transport and OPSS, which is part of the Department for Business and Trade.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Sky Lanterns

Tonia Antoniazzi: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of banning sky lanterns.

Rebecca Pow: We commissioned new research to examine the impact on the environment of sky lanterns in order to further understand the risks they pose to the environment. The research concluded in the Spring, and we are considering next steps.

Reptiles: Import Controls

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what reason live reptiles imports from the EU have been moved from Low to High Risk under the Target Operating Model method.

Mark Spencer: Live animals are inherently high risk; they cannot be kept in sealed consignments and some of them pose not only a potential animal health risk but also a risk for  the environment in the case of non-native species or invasive pests, and a risk to the trade on endangered species. Later in 2024 we expect all checks on live animals (except pet animals) to be carried out at a live animal Border Control Post, as they become operational.

House of Commons Commission

Parliamentary Estate: Defibrillators

Abena Oppong-Asare: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the House of Commons Commission, what steps the Commission is taking to publicise the location of defibrillators on the parliamentary estate.

Abena Oppong-Asare: To ask the hon. Member for Broxbourne, representing the House of Commons Commission, what steps the House of Commons Commission has taken to train staff to use defibrillators.

Sir Charles Walker: The Parliamentary Health and Wellbeing Service (PHWS) is responsible for the Parliamentary defibrillators. The Parliamentary Safety Team is responsible for First Aid training which includes the defibrillator training programme.There are 32 defibrillators located across the entire Parliamentary estate. All Defibrillator locations are listed and available on the parliamentary intranet. Posters detailing defibrillator locations will shortly be displayed on notice boards in buildings across the estate. The defibrillators are located in open wall cabinets in public, high risk or high traffic areas and signed accordingly.New maps of each floor have been designed detailing defibrillator locations in the Palace of Westminster (PoW), Portcullis House (PCH), and Cromwell Green and are available on the parliamentary intranet. Maps for the rest of the buildings are currently under design and will be made available once complete. There will be further publicity on the locations of the defibrillators.Training to use the defibrillators is included within First Aid Training courses. Security Teams and PHWS undergo training in defibrillator use. Ad hoc requests for additional training can be made to the Clinical Nurse Advisor or any of the PHWS team who will manage this accordingly. We work closely with the London Ambulance Service to ensure our defibrillator programme is delivered to the highest of standards and within best practice guidance as detailed by the Resuscitation Council UK.Defibrillators are designed so that anyone can turn on (whether trained or not) and will be provided with prompts and directions for use.The Administration Committee will look at this further after the Summer Recess. Officials will be in touch with the hon. Member so that she may contribute her views.